21st Century Skills

Manage Your Time and Study Smart:
Even More Time Management and Workload Strategies

	Use Your Work Plan As mentioned earlier in Online Learning Essentials, a very effective time management strategy is creating a work plan. Remember the map you created for Activity 3? Now you can begin to use this plan. Figure out how many hours a week you will need to spend on your course work. When creating a work plan, it may be helpful to: Work at the same time every day so that your family and friends clearly know when you are in "course mode." Use a calendar or PDA and block your course time so that you are not double-scheduled.	TIP Tools for Managing Time Are you a techy? Do you love gadgets? There are many ways to help manage time using high-tech and low-tech resources. Here are a few suggestions: Electronic Calendar Daily Planner PDA To Do List Reminder Alarms Sticky Notes
Schedule and take breaks Time to relax is just as important as time to work. The goal is a healthy balance, not burn out. Use your breaks appropriately. You don't want to fall behind in your assignments because your break lasted too long.
	Ask for help if you need it If you are having difficulty managing your responsibilties and your time, contact your Online Teacher. Your Online Teacher or your Mentor Teacher can offer useful suggestions on how to modify your work and may even make changes to the course based upon your feedback. When you need assistance, ask! You may not only be helping yourself, but others as well.
An Online Learning Contract Online learning requires a lot of independence on the part of the learner. Now that you have learned about your learning preferences, strategies to increase your success, time management, and study skills, you should be ready to create an online learning contract. Print and read the Online Learning Contract. Then, sign it and place it in your Online Learning Essentials folder. Link to: Online Learning Contract
Move on to: Final Activity: Pulling it all Together