Hi folks, finally I made it!!!
Module 5 is history, grades came out today and g-d am I happy, because this means: The last Module, Module 6, the one I’m working towards since August 2014 has opened its doors for my colleagues and me. It’s thrilling, it’s amazing, but it’s also a little bit sad to know that this exiting journey will end in 12 weeks. We will write our master thesis and afterwards, well, I guess only some of us will stay in contact. But that’s how it is. Things start, things happen and things come to an end.
While this blog and my experiences are based on a Public Health program and how it is taught at the University of Roehampton, I think the information I will provide, may also help others who think about doing or are acutally doing a disctance learning program. Why am I doing this? Because I strongly believe that there are many great talents out there who didn’t had a chance to enter a brick and mortar University, but who could profit from this kind of programs. These courses are neither better or worse, they are just another, modern kind of gaining knowledge. Frankly, I believe it doesn’t matter where you get your knowledge from, as long as you use it to help others. I know guys with degrees from oh-so-prestigious Universities who are complete jerks, and I know people who gathered their wisdom through hard work and self-learning, who really changed something.
So I will concentrate on telling you how I managed it, with a 40 hour job, marrying, building a house AND doing a Master Certificate at the Cornell University along my studies (I show you this one too). I show you what worked for me. I don’t want to impress you with my stories, I want to inspire you. I want to help you reach your goals, because after all, I’m just a guy who suffered from a severe depression, nearly lost everything, but found a way out of the hole I digged myself.
So for today, I’ll show you some screenshots, how such a distance learning platform looks like. I think about doing a little screenrecording in the coming days, so you can experience it in “virtual reality”. 😉
Here we see the venerable entrance to the University of Roehampton Online platform: The Inspirenet … and you bet, the name is program inside.
[aesop_parallax img=”http://masternet.linux48.webhome.at/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Entrance-Roehampton.jpg” parallaxbg=”on” captionposition=”bottom-left” lightbox=”on” floater=”off” floaterposition=”left” floaterdirection=”up”]A dynamic team of young supporters is there 24 hours a day for you. Ok, nearly, I think they have to eat, sleep and meet friends like we do as well. 🙂
The image below shows the Blackboard system where the party takes place. The “Module Home” (marked on the left side), in this case of Module 5Â on “Epidemiology”.
[aesop_parallax img=”http://masternet.linux48.webhome.at/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Blackboard-System.jpg” parallaxbg=”on” captionposition=”bottom-left” lightbox=”on” floater=”on” floaterposition=”left” floaterdirection=”up”]You can see my name in the right upper corner. The “report card” shows the grades for already done Modules. I blanked them out. Not that my grades are so bad, I think studying online is not about rubbing each other under the nose how good we are, it’s about gaining the knowledge we need to get better in our jobs.
I just grab a few parts of the system that might be interesting for you. The next one is the “Library”. You have access to almost any article written to almost every topic you can think of. Amazing stuff there is and it’s all free.
[aesop_parallax img=”http://masternet.linux48.webhome.at/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Library.jpg” parallaxbg=”on” captionposition=”bottom-left” lightbox=”on” floater=”on” floaterposition=”left” floaterdirection=”up”]Another part of the system is the “Classroom Navigator”. Here you can see your progress and you can download the necessary readings. Every module is seperated into six units. Each unit lasts two weeks. So you have 12 weeks for each module and two weeks of holidays between two modules. Some may say that UR could skip the two weeks off, but I believe it’s necessary to take a brake. You can step back, take a look at the big picture and “sharpen the saw”, to speak with Prof. Steven Covey.
[aesop_parallax img=”http://masternet.linux48.webhome.at/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Classroom-Navigator.jpg” parallaxbg=”on” captionposition=”bottom-left” lightbox=”on” floater=”on” floaterposition=”left” floaterdirection=”up”]And as we speak of “sharp”, your sharp eye can see that I’ve missed out a lesson in Unit 4. Well, that’s another story to tell.
Ok, so finally here we have an image of the “Shared Activity” area. That’s the place where the action happens. For each unit you get an assignment which you have to discuss about in the the shared activity forum AND work on in a special “individual assignment” at the end of each unit.
[aesop_parallax img=”http://masternet.linux48.webhome.at/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Discussion-Board-1.jpg” parallaxbg=”on” captionposition=”bottom-left” lightbox=”on” floater=”on” floaterposition=”left” floaterdirection=”up”]You’ll mainly use the discussion board in you studies. And it’s also the place to get in touch with your colleagues. And … well, it’s awesome to read and learn what people around the world think about certain topics. For me here in Austria, in one of the richest countries of the world, it’s thrilling and sometimes sobering what classmates from i. e. Africa write about their lives and how they deal with public health problems. There were times when I was ashamed of my country of what we are complaining about. Really anoying.
Ok folks, so I close this one here. Have a great day and read you soon!
Yours in mastering the master, Flo
