Dan Ward's Survival Memo

Dan Ward commented on the survival memo for Group 5: African Indigenous Learning

Dan Ward

Survival Memo

     The first thing I would recommend in group projects such as this is to get yourself organized – especially for those of us who are juggling multiple classes. In addition, keep in contact with your group members on a regular basis as there are many pieces that need to fit into the right places at the right time for everything to come together. Along with this thought, your group members can help with any support you may need, for whatever reason. I certainly found this out during the later stages of our project. Lastly, be there for whatever is needed to get the project completed in a timely manner.

Joseph Haynes Survival Memo

Joseph Haynes's 

Survival Memo

     When I first started this semester it felt like I was lost and it wasn't a good feeling.  I am also not happy to have group projects but this time I was able to work with my team members closely and this helped.  Also understanding that Dr. Chang would have an understanding on what I was going through made it a lot easier to make it through the semester.  When you think about having a lot of homework it might seem like to finish is a great accomplishment but in reality it can be very stressful.  So, make sure your time management skills are up to speed and remember, if you have problems you have your team members and Dr. Chang to assist you.

     What I learned the most from this class was the ability to work closely with other.  Knowing that someone had my back in stressful times eased my mind throughout the semester.  Learning about our topic was extremely interesting.  PTSD was something I had heard about but never really understood the true meaning.  Couple that with learning about spiritual learning really made the semester one of my best.  I wish I had more time to learn more about using different medias but the outcome was very good, something I'd be proud to show others.  Even though this was an extremely busy semester it will go down as one of my best mainly because my team members.

Chris Jones's Survival Memo

Christopher Jones's

Survival Memo

     My advice to those students that take this course in the future is pretty simple. Stay diligent on what the schedule says and when due dates are occurring.If you have any questions email Dr. Chang, she will respond quickly and give you the right direction on which way you should go.

     Make sure you keep an open mind because the theories that are discussed in the beginning are the foundation of what you will build a semester long project upon.  But most of all trust the journey!!

     You will meet people in this course that will not only be classmates but will quickly become aquaintances and friends. The people in my group I believe were the exact people at the exact time for us to come together and form something pretty special.

     You will be a better student and will understand how to impact others through education and teaching even when its outside of a classroom.  So, trust that you are in the course for a purpose and only when you commit to the process, will you gain the most from this course.  

Andrea's Survival Memo

Andrea Blaylock commented on Group 1's Survival Memo and Group 3's Survival Memo.

EDAC 634 is one of many courses that I need to complete my master’s program by Fall 2016. Typically with online courses, I am not sure what to expect. I teach full time at the community college, am active in my community, have two college kids, have two teenagers still at home, and a husband. So life can gets busy very quickly for me. So below are my survival tips I used to get me through this course.

• Time management is key to getting things done on time. Thus, setting aside specific times during the week to focus on the reading assignments. For instance, the initial discussions were due on Wednesdays, so I picked Monday nights to read the assignments and submit my response on Wednesday.
• Outline the reading assignments to help organize your thoughts and responses.
• For group assignments in online courses, it is challenging to effectively communicate with everyone at the same time. Thus our group used communication tools such as via conference calls, emails, discussion blog, and text messages.
• Make sure that you understand the syllabus. The syllabus kept me on track to regarding the content and context of the assignments.
• Do not be afraid to ask questions when you are unsure of an assignment. Our instructor, Professor Chang answered any questions that we had and would offer Commented on suggestions on how we could improve our assignments.
• It takes discipline. With my busy life and work schedule, I had to be diligent in getting my work done. My goal was NO late assignments.
• Use a calendar (print, Outlook, Google) to indicate when all assignments due and set reminders.
• Before you can consider the proofreading process complete, you should verify your sources and make sure that the document adheres to the rules of the formatting style that you are using; in our course we used APA. I struggled with this formatting style the entire course however Professor Chang was great in consistently providing resources and feedback for the students to get it correct. 
• Have another person outside of your group proofread your research papers. You gain valuable input of your writing, grammar, misspelled words, etc. 

Overall, my final survival tip for future EDAC634 students is to pace yourself. At times the workload will seem intimidating and overwhelming. If you follow the instructions for the assignment and turn in all of your work, you will be OK. This class will give you the tools necessary to stay motivated, disciplined, and engaged throughout your academic career.