How to Navigate Fisher as an Online Student
By: Katelyn Brass
One semester down as a fully online student, (hopefully) one more to go. Prior to this semester, I had limited experience doing school online. My senior year of high school, I took a Sociology course offered through a community college where I read a chapter from the textbook and took a quiz each week. This was very predictable and within my comfort zone. However, it was nothing in comparison to the hours of pre-recorded lessons watched and countless of Zoom calls attended this past semester.
As a Sophomore, the online delivery for crucial classes needed for my Business curriculum left me feeling discouraged at the start of the semester. After the first week, I felt like I was drowning in assignments that I had to do, but I couldn’t keep the due dates straight. So I came up with 3 fail-proof tips to navigate school completely online.
Tip #1: Write down your assignments and important due dates ahead of time.
I invested in an agenda from target at the beginning of the semester and assigned a different highlighter color to each course I was taking. I went through each of the syllabi and course calendars writing down and highlighting (in the respective course color) important things such as exams and projects on the monthly pages so I can visually see when things need to be done for the whole semester.
Then, each week on Sundays, I logged into Carmen Canvas and wrote down what was due on each day on the weekly pages. This not only kept me organized, but also kept me motivated checking each assignment off as I completed it.
Tip #2: Stick to a doable schedule.
For the first couple weeks I struggled with sticking to a schedule because all of my classes were asynchronous, meaning I could complete the lectures and assignments on my own time throughout the week. To help with this, I made my own schedule of when to work on each course. I based it off of my initial semester schedule before going online. This helped me delegate an ample amount of time towards each course without feeling overwhelmed at the end of the week.
Tip #3: Getting Involved or Staying Involved.
With virtually everything being online this year from classes to organizations, it is easy to get Zoom fatigue and become uninterested in joining clubs. However, I think now more than ever it is important to reach out and join clubs. Not only will it look good on a resume, but the social aspect of it can help you create connections with peers you may not have ever gotten the opportunity to meet otherwise.
This year has been very different, but different does not have to mean bad. I think it is important to remember that this will not last forever. We will be walking to our 8am classes, meeting others in the dining halls, and singing Carmen Ohio in the Shoe in no time! Go Bucks!