In My Younger and More Present Years (In the Educational System)...

This is my fourth online class. First hybrid, though. In the past, I have had varying levels of personal success in said classes. First time around, I was exceptionally diligent. Each time since, my perseverance waned. Attempt before this I gave up before it began, in fact dropping that class to take this one. I feared that I may not be able to do justice to a class without being forced to attend in person. So, because I still didn't want to spend too much time in a classroom, I decided to test waters of the new-to-me Hybrid Online Class.

The Comforts of Homeroom

Our generation has been spoiled by year after year of lavish learning facilities. I, for one, remember my first grade class room as a very warm place. A teacher who loved bears and all of us. Her favorite hobby was to work her favorite animal into each lesson, when we weren't reading in the pillow filled reading bathtub. It was beary magical. While we lose stuffed bears and motherlike instructors as we grow older, the classroom remains a comfort zone. The natural habitat of the student. When a student is taken out of an area which they know so well, they are more easily distracted. It's hard to keep a kid on track for an outdoor class with only trees and grass to steal their interest. Just imagine if you leave them alone online. 

Overcoming Infinity

With so much to do on the web, it is imperative in an online course to stay on focused, on schedule, and on task. Each indulgent distraction is time taken away from the assignment which will either result in a) a product below your ability or b) the assignment taking far longer than necessary. In class, we have learned that multi-tasking isn't as successful as we may think. But asking us not to do multiple things online while working on our WWB is like conservatives asking teens to remain abstinent. It just ain't gonna happen. A more realistic thought is to pick a secondary activity that doesn't require much thought. Think of mindless internet activity as a distraction condom of sorts.

That halo looks an awful lot like a read-to-use condom.

Does it Work?

My method is certainly not the textbook example of how to be successful in an online class. But we don't have textbooks. That's the point, no? Thus far, it has worked for me in this class. Perhaps if I gathered my whole focus when I sit down to work I could have an even better product. But then I wouldn't have just seen Rick Nash score an empty net goal on the Ducks. Jackets win. Homework done. I'm off to spend my time on more pressing matters.