Online Vacation
Since working online as an instructor, I have never taken a vacation. I purchased a lap top this spring so that I can be mobile regardless of the situation. I wanted the freedom to be able to travel and still work online. Well, my dream has come true. I traveled to Atlanta on Thursday morning in route to my final destination which is Daytona Beach, Florida.
I am ending one course online and submitting final grades. As this course is ending, I have to prepare for the new term that starts next week. I completed as much as the prep work as possible. We will be going to an audio format at the beginning of the new term next week. So, I had to practice my audio routine in the "sandbox." The sandbox is a virtual training module for instructors. With that out of the way, I completed the new syllabus for the course. Per university policy, I had to wait until Friday to load the syllabus in the course room and post several announcements for the students. I am totally freaked out because I will have to load the information at the hotel. I called the hotel to be sure that I will have access to the Internet. I was assured that this would not be a problem. I was also concerned about the security of my laptop. The hotel does not provide a safe to store my laptop so I purchased a lock to secure it just in case. Since I could not take my laptop on the beach, I prayed that it would be there when I returned.
My second course online is at a different university. The course started on Monday and I have attended several orientation sessions. I have to grade discussion posts and individual assignments and interact in the discussion board. Not to mention, checking e-mail and voicemail from students. To top that off, I have to conduct a live chat session Thursday night while on vacation. I'm a little freaked because I will be conducting the live chat from an unfamiliar location. But that is just why I purchased the laptop so that I could work anywhere. Since I am so new to the university, I am still learning my way around the course room and trying to get familiar with all the policies. This has slowed me down with grading assignments.
Well, the vacation is over on Sunday. I will be heading back home to North Carolina on Monday morning. I will have until 11:59 p.m. Wednesday to get all my work graded for 19 students. I will be pulling all nighters to get this done. I am happy to report that my laptop remained secure throughout my vacation. I spend down time grading assignments, interacting with students on the discussion post and checking e-mails. I now know what it means to have a working vacation.