1.2 How to get started
You will no doubt be very excited to be starting this course, and we want you to be able to get going straight away. When we learn anything new, it can sometimes be a bit overwhelming. When studying online, it can sometimes be hard to get focused and into a routine. To make everything super clear and to help you get started, we will look at:
- Navigating AestheticsED courseware
- Suggested course flow
- Study tips
Navigating AestheticsED courseware
If you are reading this paragraph, you will have already managed to login to our Learning Management Software (or LMS, well done!) using the login credentials supplied to you by one of our Student Support Liaisons. If you ever have any issues with accessing your study materials, please call our student support line on 1300 010 130.
Once you have accessed your course/s, navigating your way through our courseware is simple:
- Commence a new module by selecting the module heading in the main navigation menu on the left of screen
- Commence the module’s first lesson either via the Module Content list on at the bottom of each module introduction page, or via the main navigation menu on the left of the LMS
- Once you have completed a lesson, select the ‘Mark Complete’ button at the bottom of each lesson
- Once this is selected, your progress will be updated and reflected via the course completion status bar at the top of screen within the LMS. You can also keep track of your lesson completion progress via the buttons alongside each lesson title in the main navigation menu on the left of screen within the LMS
- At the end of Modules 2-5 and Module 7, you will be required to complete a Progress Quiz to test your comprehension and retention of the learning content contained in each of these modules. You will be required to achieve a score of 75% to pass each quiz. You may reattempt any failed quiz as many times as is required to achieve the pass mark. It is strongly encouraged to revisit the learning material associated with any questions you answer incorrectly to ensure you have a firm grasp of this material prior to continuing with the course.
Suggested course flow
Engagement with your course is an essential requirement for success in your studies. We suggest completing each module sequentially and strongly recommend that you do not skip any modules or jump ahead. It is critical that you have a solid understanding of each part of the lash extension process before applying lashes on real clients!
If you already have some knowledge, you might be tempted to jump straight into the skills hub, but it’s best to work through each module sequentially because there will be lots of interesting facts and information that will help you to be successful in your role.
Study tips
For some of us, getting into a study routine can be difficult. Sometimes there just doesn’t seem to be enough hours in the day, and being able to find a quiet environment where we can sit down and focus may not always be easy to do.
To be effective in your studies, it is all about time management. Because this course is self-paced, you have the flexibility to learn when you want, where you want and with whatever device you want! The best way to keep yourself on track is to develop a simple study plan to map out how you will get your study done. To do this, you need to consider:
- When you will start your course
- How many weeks you want to take to complete your course (we recommend 8-12 for full-time and 18-20 for part-time)
- The days of the week you can schedule in time for studying
Planning your study is crucial to success. Below are some time-management strategies that will assist you in successfully completing your course:
| Time management strategies | Overview |
| Plan your work | Before jumping straight into your tasks, take time to plan what you need to achieve and consider: – How long the task will take? – The resources you need to complete the task – How you can break larger tasks into more manageable tasks For example, when studying each module, you will need to give yourself sufficient time to learn the content, complete the progress quiz and any assessment items. It might not be practical for you to learn an entire module in one week, so be sure to allow yourself enough time. |
| Effective goal setting | Setting goals professionally and personally can help you to stay motivated and manage your time more effectively. The SMART goal setting method is an excellent way to ensure the goals you set are realistic and achievable. SMART goals are: – Specific—think about what you will need to do. – Measurable—can be checked and measured. – Attainable—can be achieved within the time frame. – Realistic—what you are willing and able to do. – Timely—needs to be done now. When setting your goals, think about your daily, weekly, and monthly goals for your studies, at work and in your personal life. |
| Prioritising what is most important | When we have many competing needs and demands, we must prioritise what needs to be achieved in order of most important to least important. A simple way to do this is to list all the tasks you need to achieve and then rate them from most important (1) to least important (10). |
| Writing to-do lists | A to-do list is a list of tasks, activities, and actions you want to achieve. When improving your work/life balance, be sure to develop to-do lists that incorporate both professional and personal tasks. You can also use a colour coding system to help you sub-divide lengthy to-do lists to keep on track. For example: – Orange: Top three priorities – Blue: Your morning tasks – Green: Your afternoon tasks – Yellow: Tasks that are flexible and can be completed when you get a chance. One of the most satisfying parts of creating and using to-do lists is being able to tick or cross out all of the tasks you have completed! To-do lists can be the best way to organise your study sessions and help you keep on top of your work and personal life. |
| Scheduling in time for all that you need/want to achieve | When you are scheduling your days, weeks, and months be sure to include time for breaks, rests, personal activities, and self-care. You may also want to consider using ‘time blocking’ as a scheduling technique. Rather than scheduling every minute of your day, time blocking is where you allocate blocks of time to task batches. For example, you may block out 1 hour in the mid-morning to catch up on your administrative tasks. Using this approach can help you keep focussed and build in extra flexibility compared to scheduling time by the minute! |
| Track your time | Being aware of how and when you spend your time is essential to help you achieve your goals and increase your efficiency. For example, if you track how long it takes you to complete the first learning module, you can then schedule a realistic time frame for achieving the next one. Tracking time can also help us identify if we focus on the wrong sorts of tasks, such as low priority tasks. This then allows us to adjust our schedules and to-do lists to focus on what is really important. |
| Using technology | There are excellent applications, software, and online tools that we can use to keep ourselves organised and balanced, both personally and professionally. Examples of technology you may want to research further include, but are not limited to: – Calendar applications – Time tracking tools – Project management tools – Task automation tools – Time analysis tools – To-do-lists |
As you work through each module, you should take plenty of notes to help you remember everything you are learning and so that you can easily refer back to them when you need to. In addition to this, throughout this course, there will be downloadable documents, PDFs and other resources that you will access. You might like to keep copies of these so you can create similar documents for your own business! To get yourself organised, we suggest you set up a folder for each of the modules. We recommend you have a folder for ‘learning’ and a folder for ‘assessment’ within each module folder. This will help to keep your documents in order.
If you would like to learn more about ways you can get yourself organised, access the resources below:
How you choose to get yourself organised and complete your course is entirely up to you – the first step is getting started! Of course, if you have any questions, get in touch with one of our team members, and they will be more than happy to help. There are no silly questions, and you should never struggle in silence.