by Genenda Milloy

Created on: March 19, 2010

I am both a teacher and a graduate of an online Masters program in teacher education.  I have repeatedly encountered students who struggled to meet deadlines, despite frequent reminders not to procrastinate.  When I was in high school, I was one of those students.  For this reason, when I began taking courses through Kaplan University, I took great care to budget my time carefully, which I found to be the key to success throughout my online program. 

Most people who choose to take online courses do so because they already have very busy schedules, so time management can be a great concern.  At the time that I began my program, I was teaching and working as the director of the fall and spring plays.  Without careful planning, I knew that I would be setting myself up for failure in my degree program.  More importantly, I knew that I had a responsibility to my students, and I refused to allow my coursework to interfere with their education.  I must admit that I was initially intimidated by the thought of meeting all my responsibilities, but I soon learned that careful planning would bring unfathomable results.

On the first day of each term, I carefully reviewed the course syllabus and objectives for all my classes.  This was undoubtedly the most important factor in enabling me to stay on task throughout the term.  Before beginning any coursework, I would enter each assignment and due date into my planner.  After this had been completed, I checked my planner for other major events near those due dates.  For example, if an essay was due the weekend of the performance of a play I directed, I knew to plan accordingly.  I also found that many of my instructors were very understanding of their pupils' busy schedules.  If I told a professor well in advance that I had a conflict that might prevent me from turning in an assignment on a scheduled due date, the teacher was often receptive to my needs and willing to adapt.  Of course, I knew better than to take advantage of this- the teacher must be able to trust that the student genuinely has a conflict.  Generally, if I planned enough in advance, I was able to complete major assignments before the conflict in question.  This use of organizational tools and communication with professors was incredibly helpful in keeping me from feeling overwhelmed and showing me that I was, in fact, capable of accomplishing everything

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