12 Using Your Course Schedules to Organize Your Learning
Online courses often provide you with a great deal of flexibility in organizing your time. This can be a tremendous asset, particularly if you are balancing study with work, family, or other commitments. However, this also requires you to accurately determine how much work you must complete to finish the course and to develop a plan that allows you to complete this work effectively.
Many learners find it helpful to develop a schedule that provides an “overview at a glance” of what will be required. You will find the information you need for this in your course schedule and assessment overview.
Creating a Master Schedule
A master schedule gives you a visual picture of the course readings, learning activities, assignments, exams, presentations, and practicum requirements that will happen during your course contract. If you are taking several courses, this is a tool to see what is coming next.
By having the “big picture” in view, you will be able to proactively manage busy periods during your course contract. If you have flexible due dates, you can schedule assignments for the optimal time for you. For example, you may notice that you have a larger than typical number of major assignments due in week 6. This allows you to schedule work on some of these projects earlier and then work on other ones later.
Look at the following example master schedule. What do you notice about what the student chose to include? What will you include in your master schedule? After viewing the example schedule, download the master schedule template to create your own schedule (https://oer.aupress.ca/oer-202504/dr12.1). When you have completed your schedule, go to the next chapter to move ahead.