Five Lessons Learned in the Student Readiness Orientation
The first lesson I learned from the Student Readiness Orientation was the fact that I bound to encounter a wide array of challenges while doing my master’s program online. The orientation provided me with a firm understanding of these challenges allowing me to prepare myself psychologically for any underlying eventualities. As a student, one is expected to anticipate challenges that would impact on the learning process, which would serve as a basis through which to build on success (Cho, 2012). In the Student Readiness Orientation, it was clear that such challenges were bound as I embark on a new learning program.
The second lesson that I learned from the orientation related to participation in learning about other persons that were involved in the course. Student engagement is essential in any learning environment, as it creates a platform through which to ensure that students develop a sense of connection to the education process. The orientation provided me with a clear path through which to learn the value of having to engage with some of the other students that will be involved in the same program. It is clear that this would help provide me with a deeper sense of connection towards improving my learning abilities.
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The third lesson that I learned from the orientation was on APA formatting. American Psychological Association (APA) formatting is a writing style and format associated with a wide array of academic documents including scholarly journal articles and books (Stellmack et al., 2009). From the orientation, I was able to learn different ways of formatting using the APA style while ensuring that I maintain a scholarly outlook in the information that I present. In this program, I anticipate to engage in a lot of scholarly writing; thus, meaning that I needed to learn more about APA formatting to build on efficiency in the writing process.
The fourth lesson that I learned as part of the Student Readiness Orientation was how to access open source and peer-reviewed articles via the library search. Open source provides access to a wide array of high quality, peer-reviewed journals to aid in the process of engaging in research (University of Miami, 2019). I intend to make use of open source as a key tool allowing me to maximize on the overall process of research in a bid to ensuring that I deliver the best possible outcomes in the researches that I undertake throughout my studies.
Lastly, I was able to learn in and out associated with the important U-Online platform, which provides me with access to my online learning environment. As a student, it is important for one to learn the intricate expectations when dealing with online learning, which creates the need for having to reflect on how the learning platform operates (Horstmanshof & Zimitat, 2017). Through the orientation, I was given information that would be of great value towards ensuring that I am able to use the learning platform in a manner that is proactive as part of my engagement in the master’s program.
Most Useful Tips and Tools
The tool that I found to be the most useful was Blackboard, which is a tool that allows for interaction and engagement among students, as well as, access to a wide array of assignments. In my use of the Blackboard, I took note of the fact that it always provided me with a new learning experience in every module. For example, in my engagement in module 3, I had access to information that I considered as being very useful towards ensuring that I not only complete the module but also improve on my skills. From that view, it was clear that this tool was most useful towards building on my ability to achieve positive outcomes in learning.
Changes to Accommodate the 20-Hours-Plus Per Week
The only change that I will make in a bid to accommodating the 20-hours-plus per week for my classwork would be cutting down on the number of hours that I take in my internship position at one of the local companies. I intend to reduce my engagements at the company with the being towards ensuring that I am in a position to dedicate the expected number of hours to complete my classwork. That will also help provide me with a positive learning experience from my workplace and classroom environment.
Suggestions for Improvement of the Student Readiness Orientation
I only have one suggest for the improvement of the Student Readiness Orientation, which is to work towards ensuring that the platform is much easier for the students to allow for a higher level of engagement. An example can be seen from Module 5, which expects the student to complete a 3-page paper. I suggest that you put the paper under assignment information, which would make it much easier for the students to understand; thus, allowing for a greater level of connection towards the learning environment.
Unanswered Questions
Looking back at my engagement, I believe that all my questions have been asked satisfactorily in cases where I have found myself being lost or in instances where I do not have a clear understanding of the module.
References
Cho, M. H. (2012). Online student orientation in higher education: A developmental study. Educational Technology Research and Development , 60 (6), 1051-1069.
Horstmanshof, L., & Zimitat, C. (2007). Future time orientation predicts academic engagement among first ‐ year university students. British Journal of Educational Psychology , 77 (3), 703-718.
Stellmack, M. A., Konheim-Kalkstein, Y. L., Manor, J. E., Massey, A. R., & Schmitz, J. A. P. (2009). An assessment of reliability and validity of a rubric for grading APA-style introductions. Teaching of Psychology , 36 (2), 102-107.
University of Miami. (2019). Access to Open Source Journals . Retrieved from https://elearning.miami.edu/bbcswebdav/institution/USM1/2198SRO/XX_SRO/SRO_100/artifacts/Mod3_access_open_source_journals.pdf
