Online learning requires just as much hard work, dedication, and persistence as attending on campus courses, and in some cases maybe even more. In order to stay on top of you studies it’s crucial to make the learning experience personal, and one in which will help you get the most out of your courses. Below you will find tips on just how to do so!
Create an Effective Learning Environment:
This is an essential component when earning your degree online because you do not have the accountability of showing up to class each day. In order to do your best work, what type of space do you need? Often times setting up a separate home office/library is useful. If you don’t have an extra room to spare, try creating a space in an area of your home that you’re comfortable in. Setting up a desk with some organizational features to keep your work sorted, and the basic necessities for when you’re studying such as pens, highlighters, a printer, paper, etc. can increase your productivity and efficiency. What type of furniture is most conducive to your learning? Some people may prefer to read on a nice comfortable couch, while others find that puts them in a slumber. Are you someone who gets hungry while you’re working hard on your studies? Create a space for snacks and water at your desk, or wherever you end up working so that you don’t waste time walking to the kitchen every 10 minutes. Another possibility is that you may enjoy going to a library, coffee shop, or restaurant to stay focused. If you’re home environment is somewhat chaotic this can be especially useful. I recommended finding a few places that are easily accessible to you (check the hours as well in case your a late night studier) so that you always have a place to escape to if you’d like. If this is your go to environment I also suggest having a bag packed with necessities as mentioned above, maybe a few dollar in cash for food or drinks while out as well, so that you don’t risk forgetting anything when you leave the house!
Set Aside Specific Time for School Work:
Many people who choose to partake in online education also find that they have rather busy schedule, either working, taking care of the family, or so on. It’s important to remember that while online learning offers flexible hours, you are often still required to submit assignments by a certain due date, and the courses themselves are just as challenging as if you were attending in-person classes. Therefore, making a habit of completing your work at certain times will ensure that you stay on track each week. It can be beneficial to review your responsibilities for the upcoming week, write those in a planner or online calendar, and then review what your course load for the week looks like. From there, you can assess how much time you want to set aside for school work for the week, and then you can schedule that into your planner or online calendar as well. You can also use the information to inform others, for instance if you live with roommates or family, so that they know not to interrupt if you’re at home studying.
Continually Evaluate Yourself:
With online learning it is especially crucial to keep checking in with yourself honestly about how your course work is going. Do you really understand the material, or are you just barely grasping it? Have you done every reading, or are you winging the exams? Since you aren’t meeting with a professor or classmates every week, even though you may communicate online, it can be tempting to just quickly complete assignments, or to move on when you don’t understand something. However, this is your education at stake, and it’s important to keep your overall motivation and goals in mind. Is this getting you closer to the degree you want? Your dream job? If you applied for a job after you graduated would you be able to effectively implement the material you are currently studying?
Set Long Term and Short Term Goals:
Using an online platform for education requires continual intrinsic motivation, since you don’t have someone there with you every day to tell you what needs to be done, and setting goals is an effective way to keep up this drive. SMART goals are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely. When working out what your long term and short term goals are, it is important to keep this acronym in mind. Without the proper goals it’s easy to get off track in the minutia of everyday life. Not only do goals help us to progress in whatever area the goal is pertaining too, but they also keep us striving for more. Make sure to set aside time at the beginning of each term to assess what you want to take away from each of your courses, go over the assignments and determine what your goals are for grades, communication, etc. and then break down your goals in to long term and short term categories. The long term goals will likely be more career and life related, whereas the short term goals require less time to achieve, however they are aimed at getting you towards those long term goals. For example, a short term goal could be to study one hour every day for you biology class so that you aren’t cramming for your exams, with the long term goal of earning an A in the class, and an even longer term goal of graduating with honors.