My Ashford University Experience : all nighter

Routines and Rhythms: The keys to your success

Cajun — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 01:50:00 GMT

I’ve said it before I’ll say it again, two things you need to be successful as an online student, especially one who is also professionally employed, is good scheduling and time management skills. The thing that I use to meet the rigors of...(read more)

10 Traps, Pitfalls and Shortcomings of Earning a Degree Online Part I (1-5)

Cajun — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 07:40:00 GMT

Okay I know it seems strange for a guy who is all about distance education to write about the negative aspects of learning online, but for the sake of fairness sometimes it is necessary to look at the bad side of learning as well as the good. After all it is important to make a well-informed decision when considering going back to college. If you choose to become an online student sooner or later you will note some of the pitfalls, traps and shortcomings of learning online. Personally it is my belief that you should go into the decision informed and with fore knowledge of struggles you may face.

So without further ado:

1.) A feeling of detachment and/or loneliness. Often times a distance education student will not feel part of the school by which they are earning their degree. I have experienced this myself at Southwestern College. The school is a private, campus-based college with colorful newsletters highlighting student life, showcasing beautiful pictures of the campus and there was even a forum by which students could post questions to the College’s administration. However online students really didn’t really have any representation in the literature or forums of the school other than what was provided on Blackboard. To make matters worse going online to the bookstore to order a tee-shirt or something would inevitably lead to a phone call the next day stating that they cannot process your order because the bookstore didn’t update their page with current stock. Instead you had to kind of blindly guess at what they did have and didn’t have at the moment making you feel just that much more out of touch. Often times as an online student you just feel alone and detached. Kind of like you are in an individual struggle and that you will make it or lose it by your will and determination alone. Though this isn’t true at all, it may be a feeling that you experience as I did when working for years on a degree online, where there is little to no tangible gain as you progress. Especially when the school is primarily geared towards campus based students and the online college is just an extension of a greater overall mission. Ironically however upon graduation, being able to walk around a campus and meeting dozens if not over a hundred of my fellow online graduates led me to feel an unbreakable attachment and source of pride in my school that I had not previously experienced. The very fact that there was this living, breathing organization that I was now a permanent part of, that I could see and touch just led me to a sense of belonging. Meeting people that had experienced what I had experienced only bolstered the feeling of belonging. Of course the faculty and staff made sure that we graduates experienced this even to the point of lining the halls and applauding us as we walked to our seats. The very thing that can cause you to feel isolated during the process can also lead you to feeling a part of an overall larger picture upon graduation, in my case it was the campus itself that I had never seen. I arrived a stranger and left as a part of a family.

2.) Distractions. It is so easy to be distracted when you are not expected to show up to class. All of a sudden hundreds of “more important” things will pop up that you have to take care of and before you know it, you are hopelessly behind. You absolutely must be self-disciplined and be pragmatic enough to say “no” when you have to. I know that at home we often have more distractions than anywhere else. We have kids, spouses, chores, internet, television, video games, our hobbies, books we enjoy, cooking, cleaning, shopping, etc. You have to cut things out of your life to go to school online, period. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Look at your life, is it full? Can you cut back on anything or cut anything out altogether? If you cannot, you will not be successful online.

3.) Fatigue. I have found that the only way to stave off fatigue as an online student is to stick to a rigid schedule. If you do not, you will get behind. If you get behind by the time you catch up you will be behind on the following week’s work and it will become a exhausting cycle of stress inducing, sleep depriving and relationship busting work. Once you become fatigued as a student online it can literally take months to recover if you do not get a break between classes. Avoiding fatigue is no joke when you make this type of commitment so beware this potentially fatal pitfall. Many students who hit the wall and take a “break” never come back.

4.) A feeling of being overwhelmed. Learning new things can be exhilarating yet stressful. Wonderful and altogether overwhelming. Most of the feeling of being overwhelmed is how you react emotionally to the stress of being forced to learn something new within a predetermined time frame. I have felt it, you likely will to. After a while though you just have to learn to control your emotions and not let them control you. A feeling of being overwhelmed can spoil the experience for you, sabotage your work, destroy your schedule and quickly lead to our #1 enemy, fatigue. Find ways to relax and calm down. Learn to embrace change. That sounds kind of corny but it is against our nature (for most of us anyway) to embrace change but it is absolutely vital for you to do just that.

5.) Venting. Being an online student does not mean that you are free of the stresses that classroom students experience. But it does mean that you are likely not going to have the same sort of outlet that your campus based peers will have like standing in the hallways after class complaining about the enormity of an assignment, or how your last grade was unfair, etc. Instead you will likely complain to your spouse, who will quickly tire of it. Then you may try your friends and coworkers who will likely tire of it just as quickly. It’s not that they don’t care, it’s just that most of them cannot relate or just do not share your feelings. Sooner or later you will have to find an alternate manner of venting and “letting go” of some of the pressure that can build up. I find that forums like eLearners provide or blogging helps a lot more than I could ever explain. Once you’ve experienced what I’m talking about, this will make more sense. By the way, do not fall for the temptation of complaining on the discussion boards on Blackboard in your classes. Trust me, it will not come off like you intended.

I welcome any comments, questions or suggestions you may have here or email if you prefer. Part II (numbers 6-10) will be posted tomorrow night.

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It’s almost 4AM do you know where your grad student is?

Cajun — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 08:59:00 GMT

It’ll be dawn in a couple of hours and I’ll be asleep like Dracula after a long night by the time that occurs. Unfortunately rather than chasing damsels in distress I’ve been figuring out the time value of money, the net present value, discount rates, payback period, discounted payback period, internal rate of return and on and on. This week’s assignment has been flat out, no holds barred brutal. Not because I didn’t read the materials, I did, but because the applied concept question just assumed that with the given information I had that I could figure out the numbers I needed. Eventually I figured this out. But not through my handy dandy textbook, oh no. I had to use The Portable MBA in Accounting and Finance 3rd Ed.

For those of you considering an MBA program I highly, highly, highly recommend this series of books in addition to any and all textbooks you may be required to purchase. They are clear, informative, engaging and most importantly, to the point and easily referenced. And hey, as a bonus when you finish school you will have a nifty little business library full of all of those advanced concepts that an MBA is supposed to just be able to pull out of a hat like a white rabbit. But since a lot of this is stuff you don’t use everyday, or maybe even every year, I highly recommend keeping plenty of these types of resources around. It’s why they pay you the big bucks boss.

If you don’t want to purchase the whole series, stick with the topics that you struggle in. For me it is all things math related, such as Economics, Accounting, Finance and I bought the overview book for a Cliff Notes version of the full text. It’s a handy little desk reference to read during lunch or something. By the way, if you are wondering what an MBA curriculum covers and are just dying to know if it is stuff you would be interested in pursuing academically, browse through a few of these books and see for yourself just how riveting this can be.

Jeez….4AM already. Hey, don’t ever say I don’t practice what I preach, school is sacrifice and in this case I’ve traded some sleep for a little new knowledge.

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How to successfully pull an “all-nighter”

Cajun — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 16:49:00 GMT

It was 3AM at the Waffle House down the street. I sat there absorbing the content of my "MBA Essentials" textbook for my Quantitative Methods course with a cup of delicious coffee in one hand and my pen in the other. For some reason it's a little known secret that W.H. has awesome coffee, but I digress. People mill in and out throughout the night as I sit there for the better part of 3 to 4 hours just reading and taking notes. For some reason the smallest distraction can ruin my concentration at home, but a group of rough speaking drunkards sitting at the next table doesn't faze me in the least. Perhaps it is because I am so far removed from my element that anything that occurs must not be my problem, which allows me to focus. Or it could be that after a pot and a half of java I'm wired like a Chihuahua on speed and can't be bothered. The staff are friendly but curious as to what I am doing, occasionally sneaking a peak at my notes as they pour coffee or making statements like "boy you sure look like you're working hard". Eventually I provide them some relief and discussion fodder by explaining to them exactly what I'm doing. The diner empties out of everyone except for me and the staff who then begin to talk about their various college experiences or lack thereof to one another in the far corner of the restaurant, leaving me in peace.

So do "all-nighters" work? Yes and no. Pulling an "all-nighter" is a right of passage, a time honored tradition that almost all (if not all) college students will eventually have to do. But there is a right way and a wrong way, only you can decide what works for you. Here's what works for me:

1.) Read your assignments and learning objectives from your instructor prior to studying. This will give you guidance on key areas you should be paying attention to.
2.) Study with a notebook and pen for taking notes. Write down all of the keywords and concepts as the book covers them with a brief definition and/or example in your own words (do not simply copy the book). This is very important because you are not likely to remember each concept or key word the next day. Pulling an "all-nighter" does not necessarily lend much to recollection, but it does allow for some. Combine that with a review of your condensed notes the next day and you should be good to go. So take good notes, they are your lifeline.
3.) Try to find an environment that you can concentrate in. You may be surprised to find that a nice, quiet office in your house is not a good place to study. For me a greasy spoon in the middle of the night is almost ideal. Go figure. So experiment.
4.) Realize the limitations and benefits of an all-nighter. Your retention is likely to be low and short lived, however if you take really good notes you can condense your reading to 2 to 3 pages of notes for an entire chapter. As you read your notes you will be looking into the key concepts in your own words which will boost your retention greatly and add to any information which you may have retained from the night before which while not much, will be something. Once you have reinforced this knowledge you may be surprised to find at how much you learn and how quickly.
5.) Keep your notes for future reference. You can always go back and review your notes before a final exam or project. This will help speed the process of getting you ready much faster than trying to use the book alone.
6.) If you drink coffee normally great, have some. If you are attempting to suck down 6 Red Bulls and a packet of no doze in order to get this done, stop, if you are over stimulated you may find your attention span to be smaller than that of a 2 year old. It's simply not true that caffeine jitters make for good concentration.
7.) Try not to stay up all night despite the title of this post. Set your goals before you start and do not let up until your goals have been met. To me an "all-nighter" is objective oriented study. You have an objective and you will not relent until it is met. An all-nighter is not simply staying awake all night plugging the hours away in general study. At least not a successful all-nighter. Once your goal is met, go to bed, even if just for a couple of hours. Sure you will feel crappy after only 2 hours of sleep but it's not when you first wake up that the 2 hours help, it's the mid to late part of the day that those 2 hours of sleep really show their worth. At least to me.

These are just a few tips, I recommend anyone with something to add to post their tips/observations in the comments box.

--Cajun

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