Week 11 – My online learning experience

I have to admit to being a bit of a nerd and having enjoyed the learning process during my ‘enforced’ period of education. Over a decade later, I’ve enjoyed it once again, but with a completely different set of circumstances and distractions. As a new mum, I want to be able to balance a career and parenting responsibilities, setting a good example to my daughter while also getting to spend quality time with her. Studying and working part-time with a baby under 1yo might not sound like balance, but hey – parents with babies are already knackered so it’s not too much of a difference!

I have really enjoyed interacting with my peers on the course, the group is a good size and we are from some interesting subject backgrounds. The first assessment of module 1 threw us together with different peers which was quite stressful at the time, but worked well. The weekly webinars are well attended and especially during lockdown it has been a positive to see other people on a regular basis.

It has been easier to juggle study and tutoring during some periods more than others – honestly I am looking forward to not having to juggle the two, but I will miss the challenges of the PGCHE. I look forward to having my weekends back! It does help me empathise with the students I am tutoring, as they are doing part-time online learning too, so I have been able to help advise them with time management, stress and tackling their work volumes. Efficiency, good headphones and playlists are key!

The challenges of the online environment is the distractions of the internet! Plus the fact that as we’re not on zoom calls all the time, it’s easier to be interrupted. As my husband has been working throughout this course, I have been the main baby wrangler, so my study and tutoring time is wedged into her sleeping hours. One of my students on the MA has a child of a similar age and has deferred a term as the workload was too much, I can totally empathise! The opportunities are basically the glass half full perspective of the same points – you can work flexibly around nap-times and the internet is your classroom!

Overall, I’m glad I have done the course and am very appreciative of the new skills I have gained, but I’m excited to get a few hours back each week – my brain has been exercised, now the rest of my body needs that time!