Fall semster 2005 marked the very begining of my online learning adventure, and I feel I have learned a lot from that one semester. I hope these tips will make your online learning experience easier.

My first lesson learned came when I registered. I ended up registering at the very last minute (August 19) which put me a little behind from the get go. After registering, logging onto blackboard, reviewing all my syllabi, and glancing over each class I went about finding my textbooks. Take it from me you do not want to try to order your textbooks the first week of class, it makes it a little diffucult to participate. LESSON 1 - register as far in advance as possible and get your books.

Lessons two, three, four and five were learned as the semester progressed. LESSON 2 - understand how much time is needed for each class and register for class acordingly. I made the mistake of thinking I would be just fine registering for as many classes as possible (5), that proved to be a mistake.

LESSON 3 - Learn and utilize good TimeManagement skills!!! These are invaluable no matter what you are doing or how many classes you have. I found myself running around frantically at times not knowing where or how to begin any one class.

LESSON 4 - Invest your money in a high speed Internet connection!!! ConnectionSpeed is very important. I went cheap with a dial up connection and wasted countless hours waiting for the large files to download, getting kicked off at the most inconvienent times when telemarkets would call and getting very frustrated. Trust me the extra money is worth it.

LESSON 5 - DiscussionBoards, these are the backbones of most classes. They are the places you get to know your fellow classmates, gain knowledge from their experiences, gain insight into you professors, make connections in your profession, and develop your communications skills you will need to survive in your chosen profession. DiscussionBoards can not be stressed enough!

LESSON 6 - Find and join as many professional and nonprofessional organizations related to your field as possible. I began to check out the different organizations, chat boards, and chat rooms pertaining to my field as the semester progressed and was surprised and excited to find many members of these organizations that where more than willing to offer insight, assitance, and share their knowledge on almost every topic no matter how small I thought it was.

LESSON 7 - Look for any oportunity to gain experience in your field. Many times during my first semester I found myself feeling I was in over my head. Several of my classmates had much more experience than I did (none) and at times I was intimidated by this fact. I feel if I had been exposing myself to experiences in my field it would have reinforced the materials being taught and eased those feelings of intimidation.

LESSON 8 - Reasearch projects. It is very important to pick a general idea for your research project early on in the semester. Having an idea in mind will help you in composing your final product. Forming an idea early on will also aid you in your research efforts, allowing you more time to investigate your idea, consult professionals in that field and shape your final product.

These would be my main LessonsLearned over the course of my first semester. I hope my lessons will help you as you progress through your online learning career.

-- NathanWradislavsky - 16 Dec 2005