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online classes

Student Life

Tips for Staying Focused in Your Virtual Classes

March 30, 2021

Virtual classes can be seriously draining. It’s easy to drift off and become distracted during a virtual lecture.

With the option to turn your camera off, sometimes you can even forget you’re even in class! Here are some tips for maintaining focus.

Keep that camera on!

It can be so tempting to turn your camera off when other students are but keeping your camera on is a great way to stay accountable and engaged in class.

Ask questions

Participating in class is a good way to feel more connected to the online school experience. Don’t be afraid to ask questions in class because you are likely not the only one feeling the same confusion. Your participation might even encourage others to do the same!

Take notes

Even if your professor posts their lecture slides online, it can be helpful to take notes in order to stay focused on the material. Boost your muscle memory by taking notes by hand, or type them if you’re in a pinch and don’t have a pen and paper handy.

Utilize office hours

Visiting your professor during office hours is a great way to make connections amidst a socially distanced time and to get further help with your class material. This is extra important if you’re in a large lecture full of hundreds of other students. Check with your professor to see when they are providing virtual office hours.

Be mindful of your environment

It’s a lot easier to stay focused when you are in a calm environment. If possible, try to find a quiet, comfortable spot to take your classes. This doesn’t mean your couch or bed! You can also try to communicate with others in your household that you need to be uninterrupted for certain hours of the day.

Good luck in your virtual classes and make sure to check out more of our ​articles​ for advice on navigating college life in the era of COVID-19.

Safety

Cybersecurity Measures to Take as a Remote College Student

March 16, 2021

Remote learning has become the norm for many college students all over the country. It was already growing in popularity over the last several years. But, the COVID-19 pandemic created a boom in remote learning to keep everyone safe.

Moving into a post-pandemic world, remote learning is here to stay for some. It’s extremely beneficial for those who need a flexible schedule or anyone who might be looking for a more affordable way to attend college.

But, for all of the benefits, there are also some potential drawbacks and risks. One of the biggest concerns for remote college students should be cybersecurity and knowing how to keep yourself safe online. While you might not have to deal with things like on-campus crime, cyber criminals can do just as much damage with your personal information.

Here’s what you can do to protect yourself from cybercrime as a remote college student.

Understand the Risks

Any time you submit personal information online, it can be a risk. Educate yourself ahead of time on your college’s cybersecurity program(s) and privacy policies.

A school’s cybersecurity priorities should include:

  • Network monitoring
  • Data monitoring
  • Protective controls
  • Network segmentation
  • Password management
  • Vulnerability scanning

If your college is offering remote learning opportunities, they should be upfront about the security measures they have in place. Their IT department should be available to work with you as often as possible, and it should be easily accessible.

You should also put some measures in place at home to keep yourself as safe as possible, especially if you’re giving out financial or medical information. Invest in security measures that medical services use, like antivirus software, and make sure you never give personal information to any school website that isn’t secure.

Keep Yourself Safe – Wherever You Are

One of the perks of being a remote student is that you can take classes anywhere. But, when you’re off-campus, you might not have a strong cybersecurity system in place to keep you safe from threats. It’s important to know what to look out for when it comes to those threats, so you can reduce your risk of an attack.

Some of the most common cyber threats are:

  • Phishing emails
  • Denial of service
  • Malware programs

It’s also important to be aware of “man-in-the-middle” attacks. These occur when a perpetrator steps into a digital conversation, usually when you’re trying to get help. For example, if you’re having problems with a software program or website, you might see a chatbot pop up. A perpetrator can pose as someone offering to help you, but their main goal is to steal information. Be aware of red flags asking for too much information or things that aren’t relevant to the conversation.

Educating yourself on these threats (and others) can keep you from becoming a victim of viruses or having your personal information stolen.

The risk of cybersecurity threats shouldn’t keep you from taking college courses online. But, knowing that the risks are out there and how you can keep yourself safe from them is a crucial component in the success of your remote learning process.

BIO: Dan Matthews is a writer with a degree in English from Boise State University. He has extensive experience writing online at the intersection of business, finance, marketing, and culture.

Student Life

How to Experience Study Abroad From Home

March 1, 2021

Many students were forced to give up their study abroad experiences amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. It can be hard to have to stay home when you were previously dreaming of eating pasta in Italy or exploring museums in London. Although you may not be able to travel at the moment, there are a few things you can do to bring the study abroad experience to you.

Take a Cooking Class

One of the best ways to explore a new culture is through food. This past year many more cooking experiences have become available from chefs all over the world. If you have been dreaming of the perfect ravioli, there is no need to wait to fly across the world. ​Airbnb​ is currently offering international cooking classes, as well as websites like ​Cozymeal​.

Tour a Museum Virtually

Many museums are currently offering virtual tours that allow you to still experience culture and art from the comfort of your own room. Check out the Mona Lisa at ​The Louvre​ in Paris or the Rosetta Stone at ​the British Museum​.

Explore Markets Online

What is a trip abroad without some souvenirs? Many famous markets such as the Old Spitalfields​ and ​Portabello Market​ in London have gone virtual.

Find a Pen Pal

Make an international friend by finding your own pen pal! Use a website like PenPal World​, to connect with someone new. This can also be a great opportunity to practice a new language.

Get Lost in a Good Book or Movie

A book or movie can easily transport you to a different place. Explore media that can teach you more about a new culture and provide an escape from your routine. Opt for a foreign film and watch it with subtitles!

Although it can be disappointing when you have to cancel an experience that you have been looking forward to, it can be helpful to look to the future and hold out hope for future trips and new adventures. Check out more of our ​articles​ for tips on study abroad and navigating college life during COVID-19.

Student Life

How to Manage Your Time While Studying Online

December 26, 2020

Online learning definitely has its perks, including no commuting, flexibility, and studying at your own pace . But since there’s little to no authority, the responsibility of sticking to your schoolwork is solely yours. You can only make it work with proper management skills.

If you’re an online scholar and find it hard to manage your time, this piece is for you. Here are eight tips on time management for learners pursuing online courses.

Designate Space for All Your Learning Tasks

A common challenge online students encounter is finding a suitable place for studying, classes, and group discussions. As a result, allocating time for studying and actually focusing can be difficult. You need a conducive environment for studying- whether in the house, at a café, or even local library.

Study space will help develop the proper mindset and actually focus. Also, ensure that you have the required software, a strong internet connection and power outlets nearby.

Don’t forget these important features of your study space:

  • Well lit
  • Clutter-free
  • Comfortable
  • Away from noise or disturbances

Plan Your Week Ahead

The flexibility that comes with online studying also bears a cost. If you are not disciplined, you won’t accomplish anything. Your regular schedule outside of schoolwork can take the majority of your days if you let it. That’s why you need to take charge of your commitments by planning. Set aside time ahead for reading, participating in group discussions, and tackling assignments.

Also, go through your schoolwork and figure out how you can prioritize. Some tasks will require more time, while others won’t. You’ll make better use of your time if you assess your syllabus to determine when you will work on particular tasks.

Use a planner and write down things like:

  • Assignment deadlines: paper drafts and submission copies
  • Virtual classes and meetups with educators and academic counselors
  • Other academic activities: group discussions, networking meetups, etc.

Devise a Routine Using a Schedule

When it comes to online learning, there’s usually no such thing as a routine. This freedom that comes with studying asynchronously online can sometimes lead to procrastination and laziness. Therefore, it falls upon you to develop a daily routine for tackling assignments and studying for your units. Start with making a daily schedule and to-do list and try to be consistent about following it.

Break Up Your Coursework

Some courses and even assignment might seem intimidating at first glance. And, you may be hard-pressed when scheduling them within your tight schedule. An excellent tip to managing your time and accomplishing things is to break up your coursework. Check what you’ve got to cover and break it down into sizeable parts that you can cover at different times.

Come Up with a Work-Life-Study Balance

You need to formulate an excellent work-study program, especially if you’ve got to attend online learning sessions and still show up at work. To develop a well-balanced plan that keeps you from wearing down, arrange your time to focus on these three essentials- school, job, and your personal life.

Go for a simple schedule that is easy to follow. And remember to pay utmost attention to every area of life at each moment.

Overcome the Urge to Multitask

Refrain from multitasking when studying online. Often, doing this undermines your productivity, making the learning process ineffective. Always focus on a single study activity at any given moment, for example, revising for a test, reading a section in a book, or attending a Skype appointment.

How do you plan your undertakings to avoid multitasking? To overcome this habit, many people recommend that you plan your activities according to importance. The first 3 or 4 time-sensitive and important tasks should come at the top of your list. Feel free to use various project management tools to enhance your focus.

Get Enough Rest & Start Your Day Early

Do you get enough rest? Do you wake up early? As a student, you need always to be well-rested and, better yet, an early riser to make the most out of your academic pursuits. How can you achieve both of these? To get enough rest and still wake up early, you must get to bed early and ensure that you get some quality sleep.

Today, many online programs allow for much flexibility, making it quite easy to extend your day well into the night to accommodate various activities. While this might seem ideal initially, this habit often wears down even the most hardworking of learners. Without enough rest, your memory and learning capabilities are undermined.

Stay ahead of your studies by getting a full night’s sleep throughout your online course. Try formulating a sleeping schedule that allows you to sleep for at least 8 hours each night and wake up around the same time each day.

Figure Out What Distracts You & Avoid it

What takes your attention when it’s study time? Whether it’s entertainment, social media, or a neighborhood gossip site, it’s best to identify and address it. Distractions tend to undermine the learning process by taking up your focus. As such, you can miss out on important concepts, making you waste a lot of time to understand.

If your distractions are on the internet, you could use website blockers such as KeepMeOut. Such tools will help you stay off social media or other platforms during study time.

Taking an online course remains an excellent idea for anyone who wishes to further their education. To make sure the process is as beneficial as possible, one must take command of the learning process right from the start. The tips in this article will go a long way in ensuring that your studying is effective.

Health

Protecting Against Mental and Physical Fatigue in College

December 11, 2020

Pursuing an education was already a draining proposition before COVID-19 temporarily rewrote the playbook. Now, learning online, in a socially distanced classroom, or via a hybrid of these two options, has become downright exhausting.

As a student, it’s important to take extra precautions to protect yourself from the additional fatigue this can create. Here are a few recommendations for various ways to protect both your mind and your body from the added stress that comes with schooling during the coronavirus pandemic.

Identify Your Social Support Network

Research regarding lockdown fatigue amongst college students has shown that one of the most important factors to success had to do with social support. Those who perceived a higher social support experience tended to fair better in confinement and lockdowns.

With that in mind, it’s critical that you maintain a solid social support network throughout your time in college. This is particularly challenging during a pandemic. Fortunately, we live in the 21st-century, and there is a plethora of alternative forms of communication that can be used to remain connected to your social network (i.e. your close friends and family), including:

  • Phone calls.
  • Text messages.
  • Social media.
  • Video chats.
  • Email.
  • Handwritten letters.

As you go through school, remain in close contact with your social support network at all times. This can help you identify, process, and address fatigue when it arises.

Consider Your Home Study Setup

One of the most obvious physical barriers to overcome is maintaining your physical health when you’re endlessly studying in lockdown. The need to do homework and attend virtual classes can keep you strapped to your desk and staring at a screen for countless hours every day. You can mitigate the undesirable physical effects that this causes by:

Maintaining your physical condition and endurance can help you remain at the top of your game while you learn from the homefront.

Fight the Mental Battle Daily

Finally, it’s important to make a proactive effort to fight for your mental health. This isn’t a one time deal, but a consistent task that must be tended to on a daily basis.

Letting things like stress go unattended can lead to a variety of different symptoms that can impact your ability to study and learn. This includes things like listening and communication problems, speech issues, developing depression and anxiety, and even poor motor skills. Fight back by:

  • Silencing your inner critic and staying positive.
  • Eating, sleeping, and exercising regularly and in healthy quantities.
  • Maintaining communication with your school’s counseling center.
  • Leaning on your social support network.
  • Meditating daily.
  • Unplugging from your devices when you’re not studying or attending classes.

By taking steps to preserve your mental health, you can ensure that you’re in the best state of mind as you tend to your studies.

Guarding Your Mind and Body

Your educational journey was always meant to be busy. Classes, homework, and exams were going to leave you feeling drained, regardless of the circumstances.

Nevertheless, the unique situation that the coronavirus has created has made it more important than ever to take steps to proactively protect your mind and body from fatigue. So build that social network, perfect your home-study situation, and keep fighting the battle for your mental health every day. Above all, regularly remind yourself that this too shall pass.

Keep your chin up! We’ll all get through this together.

BIO: Dan Matthews is a writer with a degree in English from Boise State University. He has extensive experience writing online at the intersection of business, finance, marketing, and culture.

Health

Adapting to the New Normal: What College Will Look Like in 2021

November 23, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic took the world by surprise and forced colleges to change their approach to education. In-person classes would put both teachers and students at risk of catching the virus, so a lot of colleges had to switch to remote teaching. It seems that we will have to stick to remote learning for the coming year as pharmaceuticals still race to create a vaccine for the virus. You can expect colleges to adapt to different ways of holding classes, add new tasks for educators, and introduce new rules as they navigate growing challenges brought on by the pandemic.

Hybrid Learning

Many colleges have announced that they will continue to conduct classes virtually, especially as the number of cases continues to grow. However, once the vaccine for COVID-19 hits the market, you can expect them to adopt a hybrid model of learning. This model is a mix of in-person and virtual classes.

It will be a challenge at first for colleges to return back to only in-person classes. They will most likely have to ensure that all students on campus have been vaccinated – a reason why many institutions might not go back to the usual ways of teaching immediately. Some of the colleges and universities have already started using the hybrid model of learning in the fall of 2020, and the number of them will only grow next year, since experts predict the COVID-19 vaccine should be available mid-2021.

More one-on-one time with educators

Lecturers will likely be expected to put in extra time with virtual office hours to make up for the lack of in-person classes. Switching to remote learning has not been easy for students. There are many distractions online that can get in the way of learning during a virtual class, which means lecturers will have to put in more effort to keep students engaged and, at times, even dedicate more of their own time to one-on-one sessions with students, to gauge how much they have learned and if they need any additional help.

This of course will not be easy for lecturers to do, so it will be interesting to see the role of the college administration to hold them accountable and motivate them to invest even more time in their students.

Precautions like never before

In the scenario that a vaccine is made public and colleges go back to in-person classes only, there will probably have to be extreme precautions, some of which we have seen being applied throughout 2020. You can expect the number of students per class to stay trimmed down, so they can be socially distanced inside the classrooms. Everyone will be asked to wear a mask and limit physical contact. Colleges will also need to improve their medical centers to ensure they can respond to any major outbreaks that may arise.

Precautions will not only be limited to the classrooms. Libraries, dorms, and other spaces on campus will adopt precautions to ensure students, faculty, and other employees on campus are safe.

Like most industries, colleges continue to adapt to the changing circumstances of the pandemic. Until COVID-19 is controlled, you can expect colleges to stick to remote learning with limited, if at all, face to face interaction between faculty and students. 2021 hopes to bring some light with many hopeful that a vaccine will be introduced soon. But only time will tell.

BIO: With years of experience as a content strategist and creator, Anita Sambol has a ‘super-power’ of being a clear human voice for brands when talking to their audience. One of the projects she currently enjoys the most is being a content associate to EU Business School, where she’s also including her own experience from student and business life.

Student Life

How to Stay Engaged During Virtual Lectures

October 30, 2020

The coronavirus pandemic has changed the way we learn, with an ever increasing number of courses now moving to an online format. But this doesn’t mean that students need to make any compromises in terms of their studies.

Virtual lectures provide all the benefits of more traditional teaching, and they can be just as effective when it comes to imparting knowledge. And of course, they’re also easily accessible and a safer alternative than in-person classes when it comes to Covid-19.

If you’re embarking on a new course with virtual lectures, workshops or seminars, take a look at our top tips on how to stay engaged to make the most out of your teaching.

Find a quiet space

Whether you’ve just moved into university accommodation or you’re starting a new course from home, you’ll definitely need a quiet place to study.

Set up a suitable study area in your university room or within your home, and try to make this area as quiet and distraction-free as possible. Then, when it’s time to log in and start a lecture, you’ll already have a study-ready space available, and those you live with will know not to disturb you while you’re working.

Free yourself from digital distractions

Digital devices can be great for online learning, but they also have an uncanny ability to divert our attention when we least expect it. 

Before tuning in to a lecture, make sure notifications are turned off on your phone and tablet, and shut any browser tabs that aren’t relevant to the lecture. Remember to close any email accounts that you might have open too, because it’s always tricky to resist opening a new message when you see one pop up!

Keep your sound on

There are steps that you can take that will subconsciously encourage you to stay focussed and engaged. And sound is key to this.

If you’re studying in a quiet space with little background noise, then it’s a good idea to keep your sound turned on as you watch the lecture. That way, you won’t be tempted to start talking to housemates, and you won’t get up to make a quick coffee midway through.

Focus on your lecturer

Some online learning platforms provide participants with a huge selection of information, from comments and feedback from other students to feeds showing everyone taking part. While these options are useful for certain forms of teaching, such as collaborative discussions, they can also feel a little overwhelming when they’re not needed.

If you’re taking part in a lecture and you need to focus solely on what’s being said by the professor, toggle the options to show only the live feed from your lecturer. Make sure your screen isn’t showing other participants, and take away the stream from your own camera, because that too can be a huge distraction.

Engage with others

Interactivity can be incredibly beneficial in online teaching, particularly when lectures draw to a close and it’s time for questions and comments. To get the most out of the interactive elements of your course, it pays to be as engaged as possible.

When it’s your turn to speak, make sure you look directly into the camera. Pay careful attention to how your professor and fellow students react to your comments, taking notes as others speak. Stay focussed throughout the discussion, and try to engage with other participants as much as possible.

Virtual lectures provide fantastic learning opportunities for students who are unable to gather at lecture halls for in-person teaching. Using the latest online learning platforms, these lectures offer all the interactivity of a traditional lecture, and they’re always accessible no matter where students happen to be.

While distractions can get in the way during online learning, there are plenty of steps that students can take to ensure that they squeeze every possible drop of knowledge out of their virtual lectures. Follow our steps and you’ll make the most out of your online course – without ever having to step foot outside your front door.

Author Bio: This article was written by conference and keynote speaker bureau, VBQ Speakers.

Adulting Other

Helping Students Transition into a Remote Learning Environment

June 26, 2020

For most of us, life today looks almost nothing like it looked just a few short months ago. The world’s major cities are virtual ghost towns. Schools and businesses worldwide are shuttered. Airports are mostly empty, as are our highways and interstates.

And “the college experience” meant something very different in the Spring of 2020 than it used to. If you’re an educator or administrator used to working with students in a traditional on-ground environment, chances are you’re going through quite an adjustment crisis yourself.

But now, more than ever, your students need you. And supporting them through this transition into the remote learning environment is going to mean more than finding new ways to teach your standard content. It’s also going to mean providing your students with the emotional support and practical advice they need to accommodate this new normal.

First Things First

The shelter-in-place orders that have been instituted virtually nationwide have meant that many colleges and universities have closed their dorms with very little advance notice. And, unfortunately, not every student is going to have parents, relatives, or friends to crash with until this crisis passes.

Supporting your students means helping to ensure they have their most essential needs met first before you start worrying about getting back to your curriculum. You may need to help students locate resources in their community to help with basic needs like housing and food. 

You can also advise them on strategies they can use to quickly secure safe and affordable housing on their own. Students might consider renting out a bedroom or motel room, or converting a shed or RV into their new, if temporary, digs.  

Tricking Out the Tech

Once students have safe and affordable shelter to ride out the pandemic, then they can start worrying about getting themselves set for online learning. Again, though, this could be a challenge for some students, particularly those who may have been relying on on-campus resources for their tech needs.

Fortunately, most communities, even in rural areas, now have access to at least 4G LTE network speeds. That means that students should be able to get fast, secure, and reliable access from their smartphones or tablets. 

Best of all, a host of productivity tools are available for download on Android and iPhone at low or no cost, including Google Docs and Microsoft Office. To be sure, “attending” online classes and doing homework on your smartphone isn’t exactly ideal, but it’s doable. And if this pandemic is teaching us anything, it’s how to make do.

Building a Virtual Community

And when it comes to making do, teachers have always been pros. Now is no different. You probably never could have imagined that you’d be ending the semester and potentially teaching a new one in front of a computer screen rather than standing before a sea of bright young faces, eager for summer break.

But here you are, and while teaching online is not the same as teaching on the ground, there are a few important similarities. The first, and most important, is the need to turn your class into a community. In fact, that particular need is more important than ever, as your students grapple with the fears, uncertainties, and, yes, the loneliness of lockdown. Fortunately, for many of you, the semester was well underway when the pandemic hit, meaning that you and your class had already had time to build strong relationships. 

Now is the time to affirm and strengthen those bonds, to provide a sense of continuity for your students, even as you transition to online learning. Continue to model the empathy, compassion, and humanity you have shown all semester, even though you must now do it from a distance. Your students need that now more than ever.

When you’re teaching online, it’s imperative that you model the same passion and the same level of presence that you exhibited on-ground. Try to be active and “visible” every weekday in your online classroom, from posting announcements to actively and frequently contributing to discussion forums. 

Be as positive and encouraging in your public communications as possible. Remember, also, that your students don’t have the benefit of your body language or tone of voice, so soften your written communications and use mild humor, if any. Provide emojis (used judiciously) to temper what may be read as a harsh or critical message, and be as clear and specific as possible in your instructions and class requirements. 

Not only will all this help your students succeed in the class, but it will also help them feel more confident and more engaged in the work. And it can provide a sense of normalcy and accomplishment in these troubled times.   

BIO: Dan Matthews is a writer with a degree in English from Boise State University. He has extensive experience writing online at the intersection of business, finance, marketing, and culture.

Other Transition

7 Activities For Students While Learning Remotely

June 17, 2020

The rapidly-spreading COVID – 19 outbreak is devastating the world and putting billions of people’s lives at stake. Many educational institutions all over the world are being closed to contain the spread of this virus. 

As Covid-19 demands social distancing, most students are experiencing isolation, away from their schools, colleges, teachers, and classmates. Many student are likely feeling restless while they are at home. Students can take it this as a challenge and engage themselves in activities which can increase their knowledge and boost their personal growth.

So, let’s check out these 7 activities that can help students to make the best of their time during the COVID – 19 outbreak.

Study efficiently at home

During the lockdown, students can focus on their studies at home by revising their old lessons. They can go through the important questions and look for answers. They can also reach out to others for help if needed.

Maintain a routine

Many famous psychologists believe that maintaining a daily routine can help people to maintain good mental health during a crisis. 

Due to the lockdown students are falling out of their routine. As a result, they are having difficulties both physically and mentally. To get out of this situation, students should keep a personal planner to remember upcoming deadlines for projects and exams. They may also schedule a time for important nonacademic activities, such as exercise and video calls with friends

Use modern technology for learning

Students can’t access their school during the lockdown. So, to maintain the standard learning procedure, they may use smartphones or tablets to connect with their teachers/classmates and get enough study materials to learn at home. They can also use online training software on their tablets or phones. Students just need to plug their headphones, concentrate on learning, and forget about anything else for the time being.

Learn a different language

Students could spend their idle time learning a new language during the lockdown period. It will be easier through different apps such as:

  • Duolingo
  • Tandem 
  • Google Translate
  • Language Drops
  • Quizlet
  • Rosetta Stone
  • Memrise
  • Mondly
  • MosaLingua Crea
  • 50Languages
  • HelloTalk

Learning a language is a valuable skill which might create great opportunities for students to grow their career and prepare for life after college.

Work on group projects

Students should join online group studies with their classmates. This way they can improve their knowledge, grow a deep understanding of their lessons, and also be able to reduce the level of anxiety and stress. Students may be able to study in groups and join in constructive discussions via videoconferencing, message boards, and group chats.

Join an online book club

Students may also start an online book club with friends. Via a group video conference call, they may select a few books, choose a story, set a reading time, and discuss the book with friends.

Learn how to cook

Apart from studying, students may learn to cook or start helping their parents to cook. This is a great way to spend time with family and learn something useful. Do not forget, COVID – 19 has negatively affected women in a variety of ways. So, help your mom, sister, and grandma as much as possible. 

Though things are different right now, that doesn’t mean we can’t make accommodations to make things feel normal again. Make use of these tips to get the most out of these strange times.

Author Bio- Patricia Sanders is a financial content writer. She is a regular contributor to debtconsolidationcare.com . She has been praised for her effective financial tips that can be followed easily. Her passion for helping people who are stuck in financial problems has earned her recognition and honor in the industry. Besides writing, she loves to travel and read various books. To get in touch with her (or if you have any questions regarding this article) email her at sanderspatricia29@gmail.com.  

Career Other

The World is My Classroom: Strategies for Online Learning Success

February 11, 2020

Learning never ends. It may be an old saying, but it’s one that’s taking on new resonance in today’s technological age. We now have more information at our fingertips than ever before in human history. Whether you are 20, 40, 60, or older, if you want to keep up and remain professionally relevant and cognitively sharp, you have to continually refine your existing skills and work to develop new ones.

That may sound intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. The great news is that today’s technology makes it easier than ever to advance your education or pursue new professional certifications no matter where you are or how busy you may be. There are online courses and academic programs, for example, at most every level, from basic skills to Ph.D. and Ed.D.

However, before you decide to enroll in an online course, it’s important to remember that e-learning is every bit as rigorous as a traditional, on-campus study. In fact, the time commitment may be even greater because you don’t have the benefit of attending a physical class to prove your participation. If you’re self-motivated and ready to commit, though, online courses can be the ideal solution, especially for busy working adults with families. However, to thrive in online courses, you need a bit of strategy.

Make It Work

If you’re considering taking online courses, there are a few study habits you need to embrace to get the most out of your learning experience and save yourself a lot of stress. Here are some highlights:

  • Get your tech in order: There is nothing worse than enrolling in an online course, only to find you don’t have the kind of equipment you need to use all functions of the online course effectively. While many online learning management systems (LMS) will enable you to access all course features from a cell phone or tablet, that’s not always the case, so make sure that your tech is compatible with your online course.
  • Check your access: You can’t very well be successful in an online course if you don’t have reliable internet access, so make sure you always have a Plan B, such as access to a local Wi-Fi hot spot should your internet go out. Many libraries, coffee shops, and fast-food restaurants provide free Wi-Fi but are careful about the security of the network. Have a reliable and efficient way to send and receive documents and other files without losing the formatting you need. Various kinds of PDF converters are available online to make sharing well-formatted documents a breeze.
  • Study every day: When you are taking an online course, it can be easy to put off until tomorrow what you need to be doing today. After all, you don’t have regular class meetings and your teacher’s appraising stare to keep you on schedule. In an online course, though, the work can mount up very, very quickly. To manage an online class without becoming overwhelmed, it’s better to study a bit every day than to try to cram it all in a once or twice week panicked study session.
  • Do NOT isolate: One of the most dispiriting and detrimental things an online student can do is isolate. It can be easy to feel lonely when you are taking online courses but remember you are NOT alone. There is an entire classroom full of students on the other side of the computer screen, not to mention your professor and advisors. Reach out to them early and often. That is why they’re there!

Learning should always be constant and consistent. So whether you are wanting to get a new degree, or simply trying to learn a new language through an online course; as long as you follow these tips from GradGuard, you will definitely be set up for success.