….or a minimum of 5-6 days a week. That sounds like a lot. But, each of your visits don’t have to take that long. Would be as quick as any of your daily social networking, Internet surfing, online shopping habits. Trust, once you get into the online classroom, you will be eager to see who has commented on your postings and read the feedback of your instructor and peers. You will also be curious to see who has posted something new that you can comment on. If you let too many days go by without logging on to your course discussion group, you will get behind and find it very difficult to catch up.

(Source: Illinois Online Network)

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Summer is on its way, and if you live up north the pools are opening up this weekend. With barbecue and vacation season at the forefront of every one’s mind, giving your all to your online classes starts to get tougher this time of year. I still view summer as a time to goof off, like I’m back in high school and just sitting around with friends waiting for the burden of classes and paperwork to begin all over again. And I’ll admit that my mind sometimes take a short sabbatical reminiscing about the little responsibility I had then, this is called Brain Rut. Some people have the luxury of taking a mental vacation this time each year. For others,  if your time isn’t solely devoted to attending classes, then you can’t afford to let your mind and motivation wander.

It’s ok to give into the brain rut on a vacation day from work, or when your kids just start summer camp; because face it with them preoccupied this would normally be the time you get things done or have some time to yourself to unwind. And taking a day or two isn’t a bad idea, but don’t get stuck in your “rut”. Keep your mind agile and aware. If you’ve signed up for classes throughout the summer look at it as a great way of keeping your mind in shape. Instead of focusing on what you’ll look like on the beach, concentrate on how you’re doing with your classes. The more attention and care you give to your studies now, the more you’ll be thanking yourself later when your  GPA is healthy and you’re that much closer to graduating or being promoted for your work and new knowledge.

I came across a well written article on ways to exercise your brain when you’re in a rut. The author explains that in order to solve challenges is to use your established patterns of completing tasks and applying them to new challenges that may arise. See the full article written by Sherelle Walker, M.A. on Scientific Learning.

Combat your summer brain fatigue this year. Make a list of goals you want to achieve, and add in some fun trips or activities along the way. Remember, as an online student, you can attend school from anywhere. So if your wifi reaches out to the sand on beautiful beach, bring your laptop and get your classwork done.

- J. Mason

Education can be an especially enjoyable thing, particularly when you are taking courses that are unrelated to your degree. However, though these courses expand your learning horizons, they can also take up valuable time that you could be spending earning a credit required to graduate. So, if you are intent on finishing your degree early (or on time), don’t take any courses that aren’t required for your degree. Consult with an academic advisor to ensure that you are taking only those classes that are necessary.

(source: Learn-Source)

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As an adult, parent, professional, or student, how would you define education? Is it something necessary in order to get the things you want in life. Can it be an institution of mental engagement looking to expand your experience, intelligence, and ideas. Or is it something indescribable that you can’t quite put your finger on. Here are some thoughts on the definition of education:

Education is…
“One of the few things a person is willing to pay for and not get.”
-William Lowe Bryan, 10th President of Indiana University

“A succession of eye-openers each involving the repudiation of some previously held belief.”
-George Bernard Shaw, British dramatist, critic, writer

“Education’s purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one.”
-Malcolm Forbes

Education is…”a state of mind and being, something not to be attained lightly but to be cultivated and raised into something useful not tragic.”
-J. Mason

My last point resonates with those people who continue to go back to school without luster or purpose. Even being time pressed due to work constraints or family commitments, providing yourself with an education should be something you reward yourself with.

“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” -William Butler Yeats

The more information you feed your brain, the more you’re bound to churn out. Take the chance and opportunity to open up your mind to new ideas, classes of thought, classes, and ways of working.

“It is in fact a part of the function of education to help us escape, not from our own time — for we are bound by that — but from the intellectual and emotional limitations of our time.” -T.S. Eliot

Take a minute to to rediscover why you’re a student, and why you’re going back to school, or why you’re not going back to school. Expand on what you’re learning by supplementing the material with purpose to your life and focus in it.

“Education is the best provision for old age.”
-Aristotle

-J. Mason