A Year in the Life of a Distance Learner - Part 1
This week we have invited our distance learning students to contribute writings that describe what their life as a distance learner is like.
Our first contribution is from Francie Tuescher, a student in UW-Platteville’s online Master of Science in Project Management program.
A Year in the Life of a Distance Learner - Part 1
By Francie Tuescher
Greetings!
Full disclosure: I'm a 44-year-old mother with one daughter who is graduating from preschool and one daughter who recently graduated from college. I'm married, employed full-time, have a dial-up Internet connection and a laptop that chooses to shut down at whim. In my spare time, I help my husband with the livestock and crops. It has been 23 years since my head was buried in a textbook, and I'm preparing to graduate from UW-Platteville’s online Master of Science in Project Management program.
Turn the clock back to year one in the program. I know I need to develop a routine and find some strategies that work for me. I move the computer to the kitchen counter. I make the kitchen table my desk. I transform my dining room into a within-sight playroom, and ask my teenaged daughter to “sign up” for computer time.
After time, I begin to develop a routine. I turn on the computer. While it's dialing up, I start supper on the stove. While I'm waiting to log into D2L, I throw in a load of laundry, stir the pasta, and pick up a few toys. Now I'm ready to go.
Not quite yet!
My husband walks in -- and quickly walks out -- as he sees the computer booted up and a certain tenseness in the air. The pasta boils over. I actually progress to about half-way through an assignment, but break to spend time with my toddler. I neglect to save my work and my computer chooses to shut down. I check in on my group assignments about six times a day and wonder why everyone else is not as prompt at replying.
My work demands that I travel three days this week. I stay late two evenings preparing budget revisions due yesterday, and pick up pizza on the way home (again). I wish everyone shared my love of pizza! It's 10:00 p.m., and I anxiously log in to see if my first grade in the program has been posted. Yes! I did it, and I’m re-energized for the next assignment. I can do this!
Stay tuned for year two: Something's Gotta Give!
Our first contribution is from Francie Tuescher, a student in UW-Platteville’s online Master of Science in Project Management program.
A Year in the Life of a Distance Learner - Part 1
By Francie Tuescher
Greetings!
Full disclosure: I'm a 44-year-old mother with one daughter who is graduating from preschool and one daughter who recently graduated from college. I'm married, employed full-time, have a dial-up Internet connection and a laptop that chooses to shut down at whim. In my spare time, I help my husband with the livestock and crops. It has been 23 years since my head was buried in a textbook, and I'm preparing to graduate from UW-Platteville’s online Master of Science in Project Management program.
Turn the clock back to year one in the program. I know I need to develop a routine and find some strategies that work for me. I move the computer to the kitchen counter. I make the kitchen table my desk. I transform my dining room into a within-sight playroom, and ask my teenaged daughter to “sign up” for computer time.
After time, I begin to develop a routine. I turn on the computer. While it's dialing up, I start supper on the stove. While I'm waiting to log into D2L, I throw in a load of laundry, stir the pasta, and pick up a few toys. Now I'm ready to go.
Not quite yet!
My husband walks in -- and quickly walks out -- as he sees the computer booted up and a certain tenseness in the air. The pasta boils over. I actually progress to about half-way through an assignment, but break to spend time with my toddler. I neglect to save my work and my computer chooses to shut down. I check in on my group assignments about six times a day and wonder why everyone else is not as prompt at replying.
My work demands that I travel three days this week. I stay late two evenings preparing budget revisions due yesterday, and pick up pizza on the way home (again). I wish everyone shared my love of pizza! It's 10:00 p.m., and I anxiously log in to see if my first grade in the program has been posted. Yes! I did it, and I’m re-energized for the next assignment. I can do this!
Stay tuned for year two: Something's Gotta Give!
Labels: Student Posts
posted by UW-Platteville Distance Learning Center at
8:26 AM
1 Comments:
I really enjoy reading the blogs of other students. I am finding great tips for coping and a feeling of relief that I am not the only one juggling my courses with daily life.
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