Hello everyone:

Sometimes students go on a trip during the term. I do not recommend it, especially if you are going on vacation. You will get behind and you will not have an excused absence.

Occasionally your work requires that you go, so you have no choice. It can be difficult, particularly if you are out of the country and have limited internet access for your online course.

Last July, I was out of the country for about a week and a half, in spite of teaching four courses. I always access my classes every day of the term, so I had to be available on a daily basis. Here are my suggestions for success in traveling while a student (or a professor!):

First, make sure that your computer battery is completely charged before you take off. Do not depend on electricity being available to you in-country. It might not be.

Nest, test your electricity adapter in the new country on something less important than your computer. (I tried mine out on my hair dryer and electric curlers. Both were fried the first time I used them in England. The adapter I was sold in the US did not work properly in England. I began using the hotel’s hairdryer but had to buy new curlers because I disliked the smell of burning hair.) The good news is that I have a new hairdryer here and I have new curlers to take with me the next time I visit merry old England.

My computer battery was down to 12% before I found a store that had the right adapter. It was a very stressful time and we had to go to four different cities to find an Apple store that had the right adapter for my brand new Mac Air Book. New is good but it is not always great because little towns and villages do not always have the up-to-date item that will interact well with your new computer.

Finally, check into your class and your teammates (if you have them) whenever possible because you never know when the Internet of your host country will be down.

What ideas can you share?

Best,

Dr. Sheri