Your Voice Will be Heard!

Do you have something to share with the college world?

Have you found a great place to buy textbooks?

Study tips to pass on?

Tricks for budgeting?

Horror stories of professors?

Anything related to the college experience?



Share your voice here.

Send me links to your online published works, or a copy of your non-published work. For the next 6 months, I will be featuring 1 writer per month.

Drive traffic to your online articles, blog posts, and websites; and help a fellow college student in the process:)

Here's the line up so far:

For the month of April we will be featuring Leigh Goessl. I met her at Helium.com. She is the Buisness channel steward, and has over 100 articles in the Education channel. Watch for her here!

First Tips, and a bit of a rant

I will confess that I am a bit of a perfectionist. My friends in high school may have used the terms, "brown noser," "teacher's pet," "geek," whatever. I don't see it that way. I just like to do the best I can and then try a little bit harder. I've always proscribed to the concept that "if it's worth doing, it's worth doing right." I've also always held onto the notion that my time is valuable, so keep it simple stupid.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that if you don't get strait A's and aren't on the teacher's email list, than you are stupid or lazy. I am saying that if you want to take the time to go to college, at least put your best foot forward. Don't drag down the rest of your class because your week got too busy, or your head hurts too much to read the required material.

Something must have happened to cause me to make all of this public, right? Of course. I have been "going to college" for a little over a year now, that would be 13 completed courses. This also means sharing a virtual classroom with about 260 fellow distance learners. And countless hours searching through pages upon pages of poorly written, and sadly researched, discussion questions. I don't understand why some of my classmates are in college. They are not prepared, and rarely seem to be focused on their studies.

So, here are your first tips for college success:

If you are entering the virtual classroom for the first time, take it seriously. This is not a platform to advertise your services or promote your personal business. This is a classroom, where adults meet to expand their knowledge. You are most likely not a recently graduated high school senior, still finding yourself in this life. If you are going to take the time, energy, and money needed to get a college education, do your best and keep up with the class.

If you've been in the virtual classroom for some time, and find yourself struggling, buck up...take the reigns...get on the ball. Whatever it takes. Remember, you are in control of your own destiny. You have to make sure to give yourself enough time to complete the course work. This can mean bringing your text book to the bathroom (for those long visits :)), or toting your laptop to the park with your kids. WHATEVER it takes, do it! Otherwise you are wasting your money and time, and the time of others.

End of rant....I'm out!

A Different Kind of College Life

College life! Isn't it grand? Instead of tiny-tees and make-up, I wear my pj's to school. Instead of lecture halls and classrooms, I sit at my computer propped up with pillows. The once cluttered closet is now my study hall, and instead of chatting it up in the halls I converse with my classmates in the cyber world.

This isn't ordinary college life, it's online distance education. I made the commitment to return to school and follow my dreams, even though I thought my life was too busy. I heard the buzz, and caught the fever. My dreams were brought back to life, and now I have tangible goals to achieve.

But don't get me wrong. Just because I can sit at home in pj's to do my classwork, doesn't mean that distance learning is "easier" than attending a brick-and-mortar school. I have to attend class 3 times a week. Sure I can chose when and where I fulfill that requirement, but it is still a requirement. I also have deadlines to meet,and tests to take. And through it all, my only push (drive or motivation) call it what you will, is me.

I take my books and laptop with me to work. I juggle family life, career life, and college life. It's not easy with four kids, a fiance, and all of life's demands. That's why I'm starting this blog. To let the world in on some of my secrets, and to stretch out an understanding hand to those who've walked in my shoes. I've also come to the realization that some people have the wrong idea about distance education. So I would like to share my voice, and do the best I can to clear up those myths.