Axia_Survival_Guide

GEN 105 FINALPROJECT AXIA SURVIVAL GUIDE The Axia university system presents new and different situations for learning than a traditional college. While the ability to move forward is less restrictive, the plethora of information available to the students is only limited by their desire to obtain it. The resources available to students in the library alone is amazing, the Center for Writing Excellence, for example can help a student with the proper layout and flow. The Plagiarism Checker will compare a student’s paper to a database of written work for similarities and also make sure that the student did not just copy the information and has actually done the work and research on their own. Tutorials are also available to help strengthen skills and improve a student’s communication and writing skills. By taking advantage of everything that is offered in the student library a student can even exceed their own expectations and truly challenge themselves to greatness. One issue with a distance learning environment is the ability to keep track of academic honesty. A student is in a very different position with online learning, they can use the internet and all of the information there without properly noting or referencing their sources. The Plagiarism Checker can, and should be used to compare a paper to others that have been written and posted for similarities. Academic honesty is an issue for some students at all levels, not putting forth enough effort and wanting to take an easier route can be detrimental not only for the student turning in the paper, but also for the author doing the original research and work. The proper notes and acknowledgments when writing and with research conveys a pride in workmanship by the student and will also better their experience while attending Axia. While most students will be involved with higher education for the right reasons there will always be some that want to take an easier path and plagiarize the work of another author. While attending classes in an online environment one of the major issues for some may be goal setting and time management. It is important to not only set goals as to when to finish an assignment but also to work at managing time effectively. The best uses of the limited time we have are to move forward and focus not only on the issues at hand but to prepare for the unexpected problems that may arise with life. Goal setting should be a daily activity to challenge each person individually, a simple goal of being on time for example is a start and working from there towards more demanding goals. The next step would be to set a few more challenging goals, like completing homework early, or participating more in classes. Finally move onto even more ambitious goals like early degree completion. By setting goals and continuing to challenge oneself a student will succeed and thrive. Proper time management can also be a huge advantage for a student’s success with achieving their goals, by being able to set a schedule and follow it a student will in most cases be more successful. Online learning has a distinct issue compared to traditional college in the aspect of time management. While attending classes in a traditional college a student needs to actually be in class, therefore that time is already set aside for learning. In an online situation the student must be focused and make sure to set times to study and do work for classes on their own. Homework is almost the same for each type of learning environments since even in a classroom situation there is still a need to set aside time to complete the work. Online learning is a bit more convenient in the aspect that there is no set time to work on an assignment and homework, so the management of time and a schedule is more imperative. Without a solid schedule and set times to complete work it is feasible for a student to not work up to their potential, or even fail completely. Any type of higher learning involves a certain level of reading and the ability to retain the material. I have personally been very blessed in the fact that I have a voracious appetite for reading, and an above average level of retention. For some students reading is a challenge, be it finding time to actually sit down and read or a problem with reading ability in general. A student with reading difficulties can use the tutorials in the library to help themselves improve, or even find audio files to listen to. The benefit of being online while attending classes is the availability of not only audio information but also the abundance of video information as well. Comprehension of materials is imperative for the success of the student, especially if they have reading or comprehension problems. The ability to retain the information a student is presented with can be improved by taking notes and reciting some of the more important parts of the information out loud, as well as some of the tutorials available in the library. When dealing with such a varied student body and instructors in such a short amount of time presents its own complications. Identifying the different types of personalities and learning styles as quickly as possible will ensure the smoothest transitions between classes. Each personality style has its advantages and disadvantages, some styles are more suited for the visual side of online learning, others for the audio files and MP3’s that can be used with their classes. All students have a distinct and unique personality; this is evident from the first day in class and their first posts in a forum. Some students are more confident with their posts and answers and are more apt to provide feedback to their fellow students. The entire Axia experience can be not only a fantastic learning opportunity, but also a chance to meet new people and improve communication skills. Involvement with other students around the country also is a benefit of online learning, a chance to put oneself outside the box, so to speak. Every time a person is put into a situation that moves them out into the world a little more it is a learning experience and a fantastic chance for growth.