Creating a
Study Area for Distance Learning
It is
necessary to have a dedicated personal study area because this provides
important benefits to the study process. It is a physical and psychological
necessity for anyone taking a professional development course by distance
learning, online, or correspondence studies. It creates a visible, physical,
and personal location where your studies are carried out, providing support
facilities for your study activities. It is a place where you go to in order to
do only one thing, study. Think of it as being similar to going to your
workplace, where on arrival you switch into work mode. When you go to your
study area, you switch into study mode.
Where
should your study are be situated. This will depend on the layout and size of
your home, but there are some ideal places and some very unsuitable places.
Without a dedicated study area you would need to study on kitchen tables,
sofas, beds, armchairs, dining tables, in rooms that are used frequently for
other domestic activities. These are highly unsuitable, as they have no
professional or academic or personal development features, and are full of
distractions and barriers to effective studying. An ideal location would be in
a small room that is specifically for study, in the style of a home office.
Some students might have lofts, garages, or basements, that could be converted.
Less ideal, but still suitable, would be an area in a bedroom, equipped for
study, and not used for any other purpose. This would remove you from most day
and evening time domestic activity (and even if you are single, living alone,
it will keep you away from the television and refrigerator). If you do have to
use a kitchen or living room, then you will need to alter your studying
schedule so that you are studying when others are not present in these areas.
Don't try to study in the same room as others, or where there is domestic
activity visible or audible. It won't work.
If
at all possible, buy a traditional desk. It doesn't have to be large, or expensive
(a low cost, second-hand, used, desk will be perfectly suitable). This will
immediately give a professional, workplace, feel to your study area, and give
you drawers and surface space to place your pc, laptop, papers, printer, pens,
study books, on. Next, make sure you obtain a suitable chair. An office-style,
swivel chair would be best, but a fixed chair will suffice. No matter what
style, make sure that it is comfortable to use for long periods. Again, a used
chair will be just as good as a new one, if selected carefully. For most
courses of study a PC or Laptop will be essential. A mid to low range one will
be suitable for most courses. Ideally an office suite such as MS Office should
be used, but lower cost, simpler packages are fine too (and Microsoft itself
offers a MS Office in Student-Teacher version, at one third of the cost of the
commercial price). With your PC or Laptop, comfort is much more important than
power. The essentials are a keyboard that is comfortable to type on for long
periods, and a screen that is comfortable on the eyes for long periods of work.
A printer is essential (a basic, low cost one will do) even if you email your
documents to your tutor. It is good practice to print off your assignments
(outlines, drafts, finished versions) and read them to proof-read them and see
them as your tutor will (most tutors will print off your work and then read and
assess it). Lighting is important. A well-lit room is vital, and a desk-top
lamp can add focus to the working area.
Having
supplies and peripherals nearby is helpful. A set of drawers in the desk, or a
cupboard, or wall shelves, specifically for books, paper, pens, pencils,
cartridges, etc, will help you to be organised, keep your study area tidy, and
to have essential supplies available when you need them.
Choose
a layout that suits you, but organise your equipment and furniture so that when
you sit down to study you are not distracted by activity in a doorway, window,
or other part of the room. For most people, keep it tidy would be good advice.
However, some people can't work in a tidy fashion, but are very comfortable
working in what others see as chaos. If that is your natural style, that's
fine, but even then, try to be as organised, as neat and tidy, as you can be
this will help to keep you on track with your timetable of studies. Your
personal study area should be used whenever you have planned, scheduled, study
activity that requires you to read and reflect on what you are reading, carry
out research on the internet, correspond by email, telephone, or letter with
your tutor, or write responses to exercises, tests, or assignments. Don't use
it for anything else. It isn't the place to eat a snack, watch television,
planning your next holiday, painting your nails, or chatting to other family
members. If you want to do any of these, leave your study area and do them
somewhere else.
If
you have family or friends who live with you or work close to your study area,
talk with them and agree that when you enter your personal study area they will
not disturb you. Make this a permanent, non-negotiable, rule, broken only in
cases of emergency. You can help by scheduling your study times when other
people are less likely to disturb you, and by building in time to spend with
family and friends when you are not studying. If you like to listen to music,
or the radio, when studying, that's ok, but make sure that it is not in reality
distracting you. Television is not a good idea, because of the distraction
caused by the moving images. If your study area is, by necessity, near a busy
area where people are active, try to schedule your study time when that local
activity is at its quietest, less busy times. Keep your mobile phone switched
off, unless you have to be available to colleagues from work. If you do have to
be contactable at home by work colleagues, try to make contact first, to stop
calls coming in when you are studying.
For
some students it is not possible to have a dedicated personal study area in the
home, or at least not a permanent one. External locations are available which,
although not capable of being personalized, could be regular locations in
which, with regular use, you can feel familiar and comfortable. For example,
Internet Cafes, where there is most of the equipment and furniture that you
need. You can supplement these by taking carefully selected study aids such as
coursework books. Internet Cafes usually do charge an hourly fee, which is
usually a reasonable price, but most will give discounted prices for regular
users. Libraries, where there is usually plenty of desk space, a very quiet and
studious atmosphere, and, of course, reference and subject textbooks which, if
not permanently available, can be ordered and loaned for short period. Today,
many libraries also have pc and internet facilities. Libraries are virtually
free to use, apart from a low internet usage fee. Your Workplace, where you may
be able to use lunch breaks, and-or time before or after work, to fit in some
study time. It may also be possible to arrange to use a meeting room or
unoccupied office, at least on a short-term basis. Some of our students who
find it impossible to study at home, and who work in organizations that operate
on a 5 day week, make arrangements to go into the workplace on weekends and study
there.
Establishing
a Personal Study Area is one of the most beneficial actions that you can take
when starting to study for a professional development qualification. A properly
equipped, well organized, study area becomes a recognized space that you enter
into when you are scheduled to carry out some study time. It becomes a place
where you are comfortable and familiar with the layout and facilities, and
where you feel confident that you can work without interruption, without
distractions, and most importantly, study effectively. Even if you are not able
to establish such a space in your own home, you should make every effort to
recreate as many of the features described above, in another location. Once
established it is easy to maintain, and grows in usefulness as you grow more
comfortable in it.