My advice is get it figured out sooner than later. I should have spent longer blocks of time to get work completed. Four hours at a time was not enough for me. I spent too much time on restarting each day, trying to recall where I left off.
Information overload was a huge challenge for me. My memory is terrible, so notetaking was essential.
I couldn’t think of much to say to my classmates initially, but try to say something anyway. Even if it’s something inane like, “Hey, I like the color of the background on your blog,” they will be happy someone noticed them and might in turn comment on something you’ve done.
Get a good babysitter so you are not constantly interrupted. Take breaks from your computer and walk around so you don’t end up with a new chiropractor friend. Wear headphones so you can’t hear the airplanes, lawn mowers, and hollering children outside the window.
Be sure to ask questions if you don’t know what’s going on. If you don’t ask because you think it’s too lame, someone else will ask, and then the question is pretty darn smart after all.
It may seem that I am making light of this assignment to give future students advice, but these are all real things that happened.
Last, I would say enjoy what you’re learning and constantly think of how you can put it to use. Even if you think you know quite a bit about a topic, someone in your class will share a perspective you had not considered.
Best of luck!
Created with ToonDoo. Of course I did not start as young as the person in the first panel, but I ended up like the person in the second!
Those little, potentially “inane” connections are so important to establishing solid connections and collaborations later. They are the kind of thing that happen a little more naturally (or at least unnoticed) in face-to-face activities…I’ll keep thinking about how to help make those things happen more quickly!
Good advice…and giving it with humor is much appreciated!