These tips are written by Maria Diment, a second-year Broadcast and Online Journalism student. She is sharing some tips to help you excel in your educational journey at BCIT.
Starting post-secondary is exciting, regardless if you’ve just graduated high school or are a mature student. It can also be overwhelming, especially with virtual learning.
Looking back at my first year at BCIT, I noticed a few factors which helped make my transition into post-secondary less stressful and more successful. Although my studies began prior to the coronavirus pandemic, these tips still apply to BCIT’s new learning environment.
Tip 1: Plan out and plan ahead.
The first few weeks of the semester are the most important. Syllabus after syllabus, you’re likely to feel overwhelmed and, perhaps, nervous. Before you start working on any projects or assignments, get a planner and/or notebook.
Making a timeline of your assignments and projects not only helps alleviate school-related stress, anxiety and feelings of nervousness, it also helps you strategize and stay on top of your work.
When I was in my first year, no matter where I was on campus I always had three small books with me: a planner, a notebook, and a small book with various sticky notes inside.
I would use a planner for long-term planning and a notebook for weekly timelines and planning out each assignment step-by-step. If you have a laptop and tend to get distracted as soon as you open it (like me), stick a sticky note near your trackpad or somewhere on your screen with a small homework To Do list.
Tip 2: Don’t isolate.
The reason for virtual learning is to enable self-isolation, but don’t let your environment prevent you from connecting with others.
One of the most important components of your student journey at BCIT is being connected with your classmates and peers. Communicating within your sets/classes is crucial, especially with virtual learning.
Talking with your classmates keeps both your spirits and grades up. Your set/class is an automatic support group for you to help each other, whether it is discussing confusing assignment criteria/feedback or just helping each other through tough times. Going through your semesters physically and socially isolated is neither fun nor beneficial.
These two tips helped me ease into my studies at BCIT and continue learning with a semi-virtual environment. Hopefully these tips help you make the most out of your first semester as well as educational journey at BCIT.