I am currently studying a masters in Information and Library management. I am doing this as a distance learning course. Not only does it mean my masters is not just 1 year but 2 years it is different from part-time in the fact I do not have to attend university at all.
I have no face to face contact with my lecturers, fellow students or any other students attending the university. At first I felt I would be fine with this. My undergrad degree in history was pretty self motivated with very few lectures and contact time so I thought I would cope well.
As the weeks have gone on I have found there are some specific things that i really miss from being a student IN an actual university not just on a course.
I am as you may have guessed from previous posts and tweets easily distracted and working from home this has become more prominent.
As a future librarian I have now see the true value of the academic library as a student. I miss Hugh Owen Library in Aberystwyth rather a lot. I miss the resources being so easily available but I also miss the space a library gives you to study without distraction. Working from home is so distracting for me. I find something to do all the time that is not work. This is particularly the case when I am finding work tough or confusing. I just procrastinate like mad to avoid doing anything. The library at university gives you space to study with minimal distraction. Furthermore if your feeling stuck there are some many resources around that you can at least find a book or journal that can help you understand more.
Although the university I am part of is quite happy to post me books out they will not post be anything that is in electronic format. I much prefer working from a book as opposed to something online. It also costs to send the books back with postage charges. I would love to be able to have as many books from the library as possible but with these charges its just not practical.
So I trekked in car, train and bus to Loughborough University to use their library. They actually offer the information library management course which meant they had lots and lots of books for me to use. Unfortunately I couldn't use the computers or check out books but I did get to use many books and take loads of notes to use for the rest of the weeks to come. I am going to go again before Christmas to crack on with some more work as it was really helpful.
I am also going to start staying at school later to get work done before I come home. It should hopefully mean I get more done and am less distracted.
I obviously miss other aspects of studying at university including lectures and other students but other then that it is a good idea and helps me have a job at the same time.
How are you other distance learners feeling? What are things you like and dislike about the course?
Currently Reading: Brisingr by Christopher Paolini
I wrote this post on Monday like a good organised blogger but I have been ill this week so only just posting!
I have no face to face contact with my lecturers, fellow students or any other students attending the university. At first I felt I would be fine with this. My undergrad degree in history was pretty self motivated with very few lectures and contact time so I thought I would cope well.
As the weeks have gone on I have found there are some specific things that i really miss from being a student IN an actual university not just on a course.
I am as you may have guessed from previous posts and tweets easily distracted and working from home this has become more prominent.
As a future librarian I have now see the true value of the academic library as a student. I miss Hugh Owen Library in Aberystwyth rather a lot. I miss the resources being so easily available but I also miss the space a library gives you to study without distraction. Working from home is so distracting for me. I find something to do all the time that is not work. This is particularly the case when I am finding work tough or confusing. I just procrastinate like mad to avoid doing anything. The library at university gives you space to study with minimal distraction. Furthermore if your feeling stuck there are some many resources around that you can at least find a book or journal that can help you understand more.
Although the university I am part of is quite happy to post me books out they will not post be anything that is in electronic format. I much prefer working from a book as opposed to something online. It also costs to send the books back with postage charges. I would love to be able to have as many books from the library as possible but with these charges its just not practical.
So I trekked in car, train and bus to Loughborough University to use their library. They actually offer the information library management course which meant they had lots and lots of books for me to use. Unfortunately I couldn't use the computers or check out books but I did get to use many books and take loads of notes to use for the rest of the weeks to come. I am going to go again before Christmas to crack on with some more work as it was really helpful.
I am also going to start staying at school later to get work done before I come home. It should hopefully mean I get more done and am less distracted.
I obviously miss other aspects of studying at university including lectures and other students but other then that it is a good idea and helps me have a job at the same time.
How are you other distance learners feeling? What are things you like and dislike about the course?
Currently Reading: Brisingr by Christopher Paolini
I wrote this post on Monday like a good organised blogger but I have been ill this week so only just posting!
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