What I wish I knew last year....

I can't believe how much has changed in a year. I remember my first Skype call this time last year, and I was sat there thinking 'What have I got myself into?' I had already read through the module handbook and was totally clueless.

I can honestly say, I had no need to worry. Through discussion, reflection and a trust that it will all become clear as you start to work through the Module Handbook, I am looking forward to starting Module 3.

Today's Skype call was more about the administration of the course. Where to find information on Uni Hub and how to best utilize the learning community. Here are a few of the things I have found helpful through my last 2 Modules.

Blogs - Reading List
To ensure I stay up to date with the newest blogs in our learning community I made a Reading List on Blogger. This then appears like a news feed, enabling me to leave comments and engage more.

Don't be afraid to just say Hello - 
As Adesola said on today's call even if you are still processing your thoughts on a blogs content, its nice to just comment. Hi, Great Blog or I enjoyed reading this. It's nice to know that there are people reading your work.

Labels

I have found labels helpful to reference my work enabling to look back at specific subjects that I have blogged about or to find key words or themes that have carried across the different modules.

I have also found them invaluable when I have felt a bit lost or stuck. I have often used the labels on a supervisors blog to get a better idea of a subject. For example - Literature Reviews, Adesola has 16 blog posts on Literature Reviews, so I will have a look through and its likely that there will be information that will give me more insight or comments from past students sharing there ideas.

Blogs can be short and sweet, and don't always have to be written. Think about alternate ways to share your thoughts or ideas. Images, Videos, and Photos of your brainstorming sessions. Your blog will become another form of diary in which you can reflect on throughout the modules.




Long Distance Library 
Today we discussed taking time to navigate Unihub and see whats available. I regret fully doing this early on. There were books on the reading list that are not available online and I feel I didn't take full advantage of the resources available to me as a long distance student.

There is a guide on the Librarians Introduction on Unihub on how to register to order books to your home address. (Please note - Email removed for security) 

Dear Diary....

Start keeping a diary of your practice from today. It took me a while to pick apart my practice in order to see it in new ways and keeping a diary definitely helped. At first I just wrote what I had done that day and then started breaking it down into lens as I moved through the course. 

I hope these tips have been helpful. I look forward to hearing what your tips may be, after all we are always learning.