Blog Post 1

I cannot put off taking EDM 310 any longer....

The thought of taking EDM 310 has been very intimidating to me since I first heard about the class. I know it is a much needed course, or it wouldn’t be a requirement before candidacy. However, several things scare me about this class: the experiences I’ve heard from previous students, the time requirements, the amount of work involved, and the fact that I’ve never taken a class like this before. I know that the hardest classes are, often, the most beneficial. Therefore, I am excited but somewhat apprehensive about taking this class.

What things have I heard about this class?

I’ve heard many mixed reviews about EDM 310. Some people have told me that it was one of the worst education classes they have ever taken. Other people have told me that it was an easy class, but it had a very heavy work load. I’ve even heard people say they really enjoyed the class, and they feel like it really prepared them for the technological aspect of being a teacher. Overall, the most common thing I’ve heard about the class is that you really do spend the nine hours a week working on the assignments. That’s something that I found hard to believe at first. Almost every professor I’ve had has told me that a class really takes triple the amount of time per credit hour. For example, a one credit hour class would take three hours a week inside and outside of the classroom. In my experience, this wasn’t true. I could wait until last minute to do all my assignments and still make an A or a B. However, I’m going to heed the warning and work on the assignments as frequently as possible.

What fears do I have about this class?

The thing that scares me the most about EDM 310 is the fact that I’ve heard it is very time consuming. I now have two jobs, so time is a scarce thing these days. I work both jobs at least three times a week, sometimes even more frequently. One of my jobs is in Mississippi, so I spend at least an hour and a half traveling to and from work. School takes up another big chunk of my time. I’m in class all day on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I use the time in between jobs, before and after class, and Sunday evenings to do my homework. I know it’s possible to make this semester work. I just really have to work on my time management skills, which I am lacking in. I tend to procrastinate a lot. I’m trying to break myself of this horrible habit this semester. I usually am able to turn all my work in on time. I just have to stay up until 9:00 in the morning to complete it. It’s not a good precedent to set for my future career. My students deserve better than that. If I wait that long to prepare for a lesson, my students may not get everything that they can from it. I don’t want to deprive my students of a quality education.

EDM 310 is one of a kind.

I’ve never taken a class like EDM 310 before. Everything is online and constantly changes. You cannot print something out to use as a reference in the future, which is something that I like to do for all my other classes. It helps me to stay organized, and keeps me from getting overwhelmed. I have something tangible to work with. When doing work strictly on the computer, I often forget where to find my documents, get overwhelmed by having so many windows open, or get distracted easily by social media. It is definitely going to take some getting used to working in this manner.

What will be the most challenging things about this class, and how will I face them?

I believe that the most difficult aspect of EDM 310 for me will be getting used to the fact that I can no longer procrastinate. It’s going to be very challenging for me to change this about myself. This is a habit that I developed a long time ago in high school. The school I went to had an extremely inept education system. I was able to skip class, wait until last minute to complete projects, and wait to do homework until the day it was due. This has caused me several all-nighters in my college career. However, I’ve never had a class that had such a heavy work load that it has caused me to change my procrastinating ways. This semester, I want to address this problem before it becomes an issue and hinders my grades. I’ve set numerous reminders on my phone to remind me of when my work is due. I bought a daily planner and a calendar that I’ve been making myself use every day. I, also, bought stickers that go on the wall that you can write on with dry erase markers or chalk. I can usually remember upcoming due dates and project deadlines without writing them down, but I’ve been so busy lately that the simplest of things have evaded my memory. I figured that if I saw all the things that I had to do by the end of the week in multiple places that I wouldn’t be able to forget about them. It’s a way of making myself do my work.

Other thoughts on the class?

As far as any other concerns for this class go, I do have one. The use of HTML coding hasn't been a concern for me since the days of Myspace. I'm going to have to re-familiarize myself with the use of it. So far, this has been pretty difficult for me. I may have to go to the lab to get help with it. However, I have been trying to solve this problem on my own by using several websites. One that I have referenced frequently can be found here. Maybe it will help others as much as it has helped me. Good luck, guys!