- Staying organized is important along with having strong time management skills. Online courses certainly give you a lot of flexibility of when you study, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have to study. Just as you might attend a face-to-face lecture at a regular time each week, you need to schedule time in your personal calendar to study the materials in your online course and complete assignments. You have to treat those blocks of time as seriously as you would a face-to-face class by sticking to them, and consistently using your workspace during those times. Keeping a close eye on assignment due dates as is crucial.
- Another takeaway is that it’s important to figure out as early as possible all of the technologies, websites, and campus resources you may need to use in the course and master them. Its crucial to make sureyour computer is working well, install any needed software, and verify your browser is up-to-date. If the course will use special tools, test them out early to ensure they work on your system so you can focus your attention on course materials and not be distracted by technology problems.
- My last takeaway is making sure you have a good understanding of the coursework and expectations of the professors. It’s crucial to passing and making good grades in any given course. Since in-person communication is not an option, make use of email, chats, forums, and other formats to communicate with fellow students and professors if you have any questions and need any clarification. In this way you can avoid misunderstandings from the outset.