Anyone starting RN to BSN online in Fall 2014

lurn1234 · Oct 31, 2014

Bump*

savvybabydoll · Oct 31, 2014

Are you at UTA?

nico84 · Nov 3, 2014

Hi! Yup, I'm starting the program as of today.

Anybody else?

I was kind of hoping to find a support group to help each other stay on top of things since I know this can be pretty intimidating for people who have never taken online courses before (And also because navigating through all the information and different pages on blackboard can be pretty tough.) I imagine it can be easy to get lost in all of it and miss out on important due dates.

mugs · Nov 4, 2014

Yes nico84 I am with you in the same class.It is overwhelming I felt the information was scattered all over the place. We will successfully get through this :)

nico84 · Nov 4, 2014

Seriously, I was overwhelmed by all the attached docs scattered all over.

I do feel like the people are (so far) cool about replying in a timely manner, so hopefully it's just the way this starts up and things will sail smoothly once I get into the groove.

I really just signed up for allnurses so that I can reply to this post (though I've lurked on here for a long time).

I'm hoping we can sort of establish a little community where we offer motivational support and reminders about upcoming deadlines.

Thanks for replying!

mugs · Nov 4, 2014

How about setting up a facebook group

RADIATION_RN · Nov 4, 2014

I just finished that course. I was used to the online format since I chose as many online courses as I could through nursing pre-reqs. I don't enjoy sitting in a class and having teachers read power points to me. With that in mind, as tech savy as I am, the online format they use at UTA did take me some getting used to. Here is what I did that helped keep organized :

I printed the calender which has all of your assignments and due dates each week. There is usually between 4-5 assignments due each week. You will become well versed in APA format, you have to do a journal entry each week, don't forget about that, and you will live on the discussion boards...excessively so. It was a long 10 weeks but I've heard it is the easiest class of all of them.

NurseToBe3 · Nov 5, 2014

I'm in this class too! I feel like I'm missing something though. I was under the impression that there were actual lectures, not just 10 min worth of short clips. I noticed that there's quite a bit of reading to do for next week, so maybe it's just heavy on reading and writing. It seems like the info isn't as easy to find as I had hoped either. Hopefully it will just take a week or two to settle in and wont seem so overwhelming!

RADIATION_RN · Nov 6, 2014

No actual lectures, just short videos for each week and honestly the videos were enough of a recap of important material so you could successfully do the quizzes and/or discussion board for that particular week. If you click under "resources" there should be supplemental material for every week. You will get used to it as you go. I printed the calendar with the due dates and at the end of every week I made sure I had completed and turned in everything that was on the calendar. The first part of every week's discussion posting is usually due on Wednesday nights and then you have to reply to two classmates by Sunday evening to count for the participation grade.

APA format was my biggest adjustment, and they will nit pick you until you get it right. That little purple book about APA the right way was the only book I used for the class. The majority of the assigned readings were found on the UTA library nursing resources section. How to access them is in your week 1 resources tab.

annie_m · Nov 7, 2014

When turning in assignments make sure that you look at the grading rubric. It has exactly what is required to make a good grade. Sometimes the instructions are a bit vague but the rubric is detailed.

PANJRN · Nov 10, 2014

I am close to completing the AP RN-BSN program at UTA. I highly suggest going to perrla.com and downloading the APA program. It helps creating the reference page and to cite in your paper. The website has videos you can watch and learn before you buy the program. It has been a lifesaver for me! I also use it for discussion boards and other non-nursing classes.

Good luck in the program.