LIB 203 My Thoughts About Succeeding as an Online Student and as a Member of an Online Team

This year I’ve taken two undergraduate courses online. Based on my limited experience I would say that the personal qualities needed for being a successful online student aren’t that different from those needed to be a successful traditional student. These qualities include taking your assignments seriously, turning your work in on time and asking questions when you are unclear about the lectures or assignments.

I also think most successful online students make a habit of:

• Logging in every day or every weekday to check for course announcements posted by the instructor.
• Checking their course email every day.
• Making backups of assignments in two places.
• Having a back-up plan for those times when their computer or Internet goes down.

For me, one of the best things about being an online student…never having to worry about finding a parking place.




I work in a small department including me we have one full time and three part-time employees. We rely on teamwork to provide our patron’s with excellent service and keep our department running smoothly. Just like an online team, one of the biggest challenges facing our department is the lack of face time among part-time co-workers. Listening to Dr. Haycock's lecture on successful teamwork helped me focus on what works so well in our department. First good communication is essential. From my past experience at another organization, I know lack of communication can quickly lead to problems with the team. In our department, we communicate daily via email, written notes and document sharing with Microsoft SharePoint.

Secondly in our office we have well defined duties and performance standards. There is no ambiguity about who does what or when those tasks need to done. But when one of us needs help with a task the others chip in to get the job done. The department’s focus remains on the overall goals rather than individual assignments. Enid Irwin in her presentation “The Monster Inside Library School: Student Teams” states that “Teamwork is -- it's a combination of Attitude and Planning. The two fit together. It takes a lot of work. It takes a lot of thought.” I agree and I’ve found that a positive attitude among team members follows when they all understand the ground rules and have good communication.

I’m looking forward to working with other SLIS students on assignments and group projects.