Module 3: Staying on Track

Introduction

Welcome to Module 3! This module will dive into different strategies to help you stay on track with your online coursework. 

Module Goals

Upon the completion of this module, you will:

  1. Identify where to find important information.
  2. Identify ways to stay on track.

To Do List

  • Read: Staying on Track (LO2)
  • Read: Using the Syllabus and Academic Calendar (LO1, LO2)
  • Listen: Online Learning Podcast Episode #1 (LO1, LO2) 
  • Watch: Read Your Syllabus (LO1, LO2)
  • Complete: Bookmarking Activity. (LO2)

Required Readings

Staying on Track

While online courses provide the flexibility to complete coursework anywhere in the world and at any time, it’s important to stay on track. When the first class day comes around you’ll want to locate the course calendar and identify important dates. The Weekly Scheduler you completed last week was created precisely for this. As you complete these activities, be sure to keep them handy. You’ll be compiling all this information to create an action plan during the final assessment. 

Using the Syllabus and Academic Calendar

Two important pieces of information are your course syllabus and the academic calendar. Your syllabi will contain all information related to your courses such as your instructor’s contact information, course information, course and institutional policies, and more. The academic calendar is essential so that you know key dates such as the first class day, final exam week, the last day for add and drop, and if necessary, the last day to drop a class. 

Course Syllabi can be accessed in a variety of places such as Blackboard, ASSIST, and Faculty Profiles.

The Academic Calendar can also be found in places such as the myUTRGV Portal, the UTRGV Website, and the UTRGV Calendar.

Audio

Staying On Track Episode 1

View Audio Transcript. 

Videos

Read Your Syllabus

Check for Understanding

Before moving onto this module’s activity, please answer the following Check for Understanding question: List one technique you plan on implementing to stay on track this upcoming semester. Think back to some of the ideas mentioned already.

This will not only assist you in identifying a goal to work on but assist me as an instructor to identify the main technique students are interested in. I can then tailor some of the course content to this method.  

Answer the Question!

As you complete this course, you will find these ‘Check for Understanding’ questions at the end of some modules. These are designed to be formative assessments that test your knowledge of what was just covered. The idea is that they’ll alert you of any information you’re still unclear about before we get to the final assessment at the end of module 6. 

Activity

Bookmarking Activity

For this activity, I would like for you to do some research on things you can do to stay on track this semester. This could include tasks such as creating a calendar, using a program to create flashcards, all the way to personal wellness tasks such as taking breaks every 30 minutes to stretch. You’ll be using these ideas in your Final Action Plan. 

Instructions

For this assignment, you’ll be using Diigo, a digital bookmarking tool. As you do your research, please bookmark at least five websites, YouTube videos, PDFs, images, or text notes in Diigo. If you’ve never used Diigo before, please review this video tutorial on how to use Diigo. You may also want to create a ‘Staying on Track’ tag so that you can easily view your ideas. After completing this assignment, you may want to share some of your tips in the ‘Staying on Track’ Discussion Board located in your Blackboard course. 

Module 4 →