Regardless of how the course is delivered (distance digital or face-to-face), much of the work you do is similar. For example, whether reading on a screen or on page, research shows that you should take notes on paper with a pencil or pen if you want to remember the information.
✏️ Prompt: Take notes on the following article about monuments in South Africa. What types of information did you include?
The second lives of zombie monuments
Image of Cecil Rhodes statue missing his head, with link.
➡️Did you know? College work done away from your screen is as valuable as your work in front of a screen?
Reading paper books, taking notes in a notebook, doing lab work, or practicing your performance are central to your education. What is more, using non-digital devices can help reduce digital distractions.
The competing demands on your time amongst college, work, family, friends, and private activities mean that you need to keep a calendar while in college. Many assignments in college need multiple days to complete, so relying on due dates that are included in the syllabus will not allow you enough time to finish the assignment.
The type of calendar you keep is up to you. Digital calendars that live on your phone and computer can be useful for looking at on many devices. Your college or course may have an electronic calendar you can synchronize with your personal digital calendar. Paper calendars keep all your information in one place and do not require internet access or electricity to manage.
Image of calendar app on iPhone. Photo by Ales Nesetril on UnSplash.
Image of paper journal calendar and yellow pencil. Photo by Photo by JESHOOTS.COM on Unsplash.
✏️ What type of calendar do you use? How do you ensure your calendar is up-to-date with your course assignments and your non-school events? Write down at least two sentences to share with your class.
Your course will likely use a online gradebook that allows you to check your grades whenever you want. As well, your course page likely shows readings, assignments, quizzes, or tests weeks or months before they are due.
Being able to see more of how a course is designed is called transparency. With a paper and face-to-faced based course, you had access to readings and assignments when you were handed them. With digital tools, you often have greater access to all the parts of a course.
⚠️ Warning: More transparency in your courses does not mean that your faculty can work any faster teaching digital distant courses than when teaching face-to-face courses. Your faculty should have clear expectations for how fast they will respond to any communications for you, say in 24 hours.
💡Scenario: Imagine your grandmother emailed you at your college email address and asked how your classes are going, what you are looking forward to in college, and what you are having for dinner.
✏️ Write a short email to your grandmother answering her questions.
Discuss your email with your fellow classmates. Did you write with normal punctuation, capital letters where they should be and using regular language, not abbreviations or jargon? Were you brief and to the point in your communication? Did you avoid sarcasm or jokes that she might not understand?