Online study is fantastic for convenience. You never have to turn up to online classes in person. Literally, you can study wherever and whenever it suits (e.g. on the bus or in bed). But achieving success has its challenges and that’s where these top 5 tips come in.
To succeed with online learning, create structure around your study efforts. You need to be mentally engaged and putting in enough hours. Getting good learning results – each and every study session – is also important. For most students, not all of these things happen automatically.
By following these tips and strategies, you should be well on your way to success. The guidance is based on a university essay competition to find the best online class tips. Hundreds of entries were received and we selected the most popular and insightful pieces of advice.
1. Establish a Study Schedule
To study consistently well, establishing a solid routine is essential. Ideally, you should establish a weekly schedule early in the course, perhaps using a weekly planner. The goal is to make online study a habit.
Distance courses usually don’t have regular classes that give you a natural structure and timetable. So you have to establish a routine of you own. It needs to fits into your lifestyle, be sustainable over the long run, and provide enough study time each week.
As a guide, you should log on to your course a minimum of 5 days per week. A single university subject typically requires a minimum of 6 hours of quality study time a week. Although tempting, leaving coursework until deadlines arrive is not smart or effective. Doing some work each day, just as you would in a traditional course with regular classes, is tremendously important.
2. Find Your Inspiration
Students sometimes assume online programs require less work and are easier than on-campus courses. In reality, online courses are designed to be equally as rigorous and demanding as traditional courses. You need to genuinely apply yourself to get through. Universities and colleges require distance education students to cover the same material and sit the same exams as everyone else.
To stay motivated – even on the bad days – keep reminding yourself of why you’re doing it. For example, an education student told us that she often imagined the faces of the children whose lives she would one day affect for the better. That kept her going.
Even on a session-by-session basis, you can use motivation tricks to get results. You could, let’s say, set a fixed period of time to study hard (say, an hour) and complete a given amount of work. Then picture yourself in an hour’s time having completed the task and enjoying a well-earned break. Finding inspiration is a sure path to study for success.
3. Use the Material Provided
Online instructors often give you more material than you need to complete graded assignments. You should cover all of it or, at least, as much as you can within your allotted study time.
Don’t run through a course with frequent skipping of videos, animations, and ungraded self-assessment activities. These are meant to help you achieve course learning objectives. Even if something doesn’t have a grade attached, it offers supplemental learning and helps you prepare for exams.
To you give yourself every possible advantage, spend time to explore what online resources are available. Figure out how everything works in the university’s online environment. Follow links to recommended sites and see if they are useful. Check out guides and tools.
4. Learn Actively
Learning happens when the neurons in your brain are firing off in a significant way about the subject. That’s not the case when you’re sitting down and watching a course video and daydreaming about something else. To learn effectively, you must engage your mind.
Some tricks to get your mind into gear are to
- rewrite material – e.g. write notes in your own words during a presentation or for exam preparation, or convert text into diagrams
- apply concepts, such as by answering questions, solving problems and taking old exams
- recall information – say what you know about a topic without using notes (in writing, internally or out loud).
Active learning requires attentiveness. Many students stress the value of finding a quiet time and place to study, free of distractions. Also, try to study when you’re most alert (such as in the morning, or early evening).
5. Be a Good Online Communicator
When doing an online course, you don’t get the chance for casual conversations with other students before class or catch the instructor after class. So it’s important to embrace online communication, which includes email and posting in student forums. Here are some quick tips to communicate effectively:
- Write clearly and concisely
- Proper grammar and spelling
- Be responsive to messages and prompts
- Actively engage in online discussions
- Appropriate tone and language
- Respect others’ opinions
- Use video conferencing and other multimedia tools.
Good communication helps clear up problems. It also helps keep you engaged and motivated. If you’re polite and follow netiquette guidelines for students, there’s also a good chance of making some online buddies.
To achieve online learning success, follow these simple rules.
1. Set specific and achievable goals for yourself.
2. Create a schedule and stick to it as best as you can.
3. Stay organized and keep track of deadlines, assignments and assessments.
4. Communicate with your professors and classmates in a timely manner.
Gabriela G.
Hello class and teacher
,
I have read the five tips for online success and I thinking these are very important
because you have the option to study wherever etc. you feel good and free study
online. so I appreciate you sharing thank you.
I am currently taking an online MBA which interestingly was not as tough as I would have thought. Any general helpful guidelines does help me, so I appreciate you sharing this. Thank you!
I had to switch to online education during the pandemic and it was something I was in fear of. I never been good at keeping on schedule! I managed to make it by and learned how to make better use of my time. What helped me was having an actual office space at home to work in. I would only do my school studies in there. Now I am considering switching to 100% online studying to save money.
I really like your tip about establishing a study schedule. My sister is looking to take online biomedical tech classes but wants to stay focused. I’ll be sure to talk to her about establishing a study schedule.
What do I do when I’m staring at the screen and not feeling like doing study?
If you really, really do not feel like studying Davey, would suggest not trying. Try and find your inspiration (Tip 2) and come back when you’re ready.
I want to go back to school but can only do online classes. Thanks for the advice about making sure to establish a schedule that fits into your routine. Another thing is to make sure you don’t procrastinate.
Hello
An almost shocking helpful article! Thanks . From the viewpoint of a creative reader . I read your almost full article about Top 5 Tips for Online Study
it’s seriously awesome.
Regards
Vijay