2.2.1 Managing your own study

As an online learner, it is important to realise that you will be responsible for managing the majority of your own study time.

People often study online because they have other commitments, such as work and family. This means that the time you can put aside for study may be more limited than for many campus-based students, and may also be at different times, such as at weekends or late at night. Often the module or course you study will have a set timetable, with specific dates for doing activities or submitting assignments. However, with online study, there is often no set timetable each week and, unlike campus-based students, you will also need to find your own place to study.

This requires you to be an independent or self-directed learner. Being an independent online learner means:

The video below shows some online students describing how they manage to combine study with work and childcare, and the physical and mental space that they create in order to be able to do this. As you watch the clips, look for the evidence that they are independent learners.:

Download this video clip.Video player: ou_futurelearn_cicp_vid_1005.mp4

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Transcript

Emma (Narrating)

I'm 28 years old. I work as a classroom assistant at a deaf school. I've worked there for three years. And the children that I work with, they're deaf, but they also have additional needs.

Emma

Making bounty castle. Yes.

Emma (Narrating)

Yeah. I really enjoy my job. It's full time. It's 32 hours a week.

Emma

Emily.

Emma (Narrating)

I'm really happy that I've done this course. It's something that I've always wanted to do. It sounds really silly but because I hadn't studied for six years, I never felt like this at school. But I was really excited because it has given me an opportunity to go onto my nurse training. I live at home with my partner.

Emma

Do you want to go mackerel fishing or do you –

Emma (Narrating)

His son George who's 10. And his daughter, Alice, who's 16. And then there's my daughter, Emily. I study here. I've got a computer desk there. It's really good. It folds out. I study mainly like when my children aren't around. I just set myself a time, say between 9:00 and 10:30. And I try not to go over that.

Wagdi

I just wanted to talk to you because I'm going away on holiday.

Wagdi (Narrating)

I've been working at Tesco for about 19 years. And currently I'm the resource manager. And basically what that means is I'm in charge of recruitment.

Wagdi

What I want you to do is recruit those people. So interview them, screen them.

Wagdi (Narrating)

So I get to meet all the new people, which is good fun. I've wanted to go back to studying for quite a while. And I've always been interested in psychology. A friend of mine suggested The Open University to me.

What I found is that I needed to be quite structured in routine. I made sure that I spent at least an hour after work. So it would be the first thing that I did when I got home. And strange enough, this room isn't used a great deal. It tends to be left unused. So it's a very quiet environment.

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Now that you have heard about the experience of these students, think about your own circumstances and whether you are already an independent learner.

• What are your current commitments?
• How much time can you put aside each week to study, and when is this?
• Do you have a space to study?
• What characteristics of an independent learner do you already demonstrate?
• What characteristics of an independent learner do you have to acquire?
• What changes are you going to have to make to your life to be able to study?