As this program comes to a close, I find myself looking back at all that I’ve accomplished. Not only have I learned more about teaching online, but I’ve learned about how students learn, how I learn, and most importantly about the significance of learning. I teach online so I usually have over 200 students at a time. It is hard for me to get to know them personally but I have learned strategies to do so through this program.
I have learned that every single lesson, in every class, for every student is significant. Each assignment teaches them something. If it isn’t the content of the assignment, then it is study strategies, search strategies, how to write a bibliography, or something else. I know this because I had the same thing happen to me through this program. In one instance we were assigned to make a video about the future. I found myself searching about all aspects of life that scientists were working on making advancements in. I wanted my video to be the most scientifically accurate. I didn’t want to predict that we would have flying cars if no one was actually working on that. In the end, I learned more about scientific advancements than about making the video!
The most memorable assignment for me was to make a story about waffles for Patrick Lowenthal. I thought this was the craziest assignment I had ever heard of. I couldn’t believe that this was in a Master’s program! I even showed the assignment to my husband and he laughed saying that it belonged in our son’s kindergarten class. That silly waffle assignment was one of the most enjoyable assignments for me to do. I felt like I could be creative beyond measure, and I was. It was fun but I also learned how to use a video editing program along the way.
The most difficult part of this program for me was my personal struggles while taking these courses. During this program, I moved three times, had a baby, started two new jobs, written a book, started a business, and struggled financially. It has been a crazy four years but I’m all the stronger for it. I know that I can accomplish anything that I put my mind to. Maybe now I will have a little bit more free time to do so.
Oddly enough, I started this program because I couldn’t afford to pay my student loan bills. My husband was in school and I had a full time job but we just couldn’t make ends meet. We decided to defer my bills and take out loans for this program until we could get him finished with school and able to make the payments again. We have been able to make the payments for the last two years. I have enjoyed the courses so much that I didn’t want to give up or change majors. Now I am glad that chose to defer those bills and enroll in this program.
I have learned that every single lesson, in every class, for every student is significant. Each assignment teaches them something. If it isn’t the content of the assignment, then it is study strategies, search strategies, how to write a bibliography, or something else. I know this because I had the same thing happen to me through this program. In one instance we were assigned to make a video about the future. I found myself searching about all aspects of life that scientists were working on making advancements in. I wanted my video to be the most scientifically accurate. I didn’t want to predict that we would have flying cars if no one was actually working on that. In the end, I learned more about scientific advancements than about making the video!
The most memorable assignment for me was to make a story about waffles for Patrick Lowenthal. I thought this was the craziest assignment I had ever heard of. I couldn’t believe that this was in a Master’s program! I even showed the assignment to my husband and he laughed saying that it belonged in our son’s kindergarten class. That silly waffle assignment was one of the most enjoyable assignments for me to do. I felt like I could be creative beyond measure, and I was. It was fun but I also learned how to use a video editing program along the way.
The most difficult part of this program for me was my personal struggles while taking these courses. During this program, I moved three times, had a baby, started two new jobs, written a book, started a business, and struggled financially. It has been a crazy four years but I’m all the stronger for it. I know that I can accomplish anything that I put my mind to. Maybe now I will have a little bit more free time to do so.
Oddly enough, I started this program because I couldn’t afford to pay my student loan bills. My husband was in school and I had a full time job but we just couldn’t make ends meet. We decided to defer my bills and take out loans for this program until we could get him finished with school and able to make the payments again. We have been able to make the payments for the last two years. I have enjoyed the courses so much that I didn’t want to give up or change majors. Now I am glad that chose to defer those bills and enroll in this program.