Firstly, WELCOME if you’re new to online learning! Learning online is an excellent opportunity to broaden your knowledge and abilities in a special, adaptable setting that has its own unique advantages and chances.
There are a few crucial factors to take into account to position yourself for success and make the most of everything that online learning has to offer, whether you’re taking online classes for the first time or searching for ways to improve your present habits and approaches.
We provide advice and best practices for online learning from our team of curriculum developers, business professionals, and other students in this compilation to help you succeed in your learning journey, including how to:
- Make the most of your education
- Maintaining physical and mental wellbeing
- Manage your time well and avoid distractions.
- Establish ties with your online learning community.
- Take on logistics
Success in learning depends on effective study habits and techniques, not on some innate talent.
Online Education Advice
“I discovered that some of the top students have excellent study routines and techniques. I used to believe that learning success depended on some innate skill, but I later understood that the methods you employ are even more crucial”. TNA Project Manager and Activity Coordinator at Centre4eLearning, Fidelity Sindolo, remarked.
Learning Techniques
There is a ton of stuff available to watch, read, and listen to about almost any subject in today’s learning environment, but knowing is not the same as doing. Make sure you acquire new knowledge and abilities in a way that you can remember, use repeatedly, and adapt to various settings if you want to get the most out of online learning.
- Make your knowledge memorable: Utilize the well-established practice, application, and reflection concepts of science education. It’s crucial to continually exercise skills, apply knowledge in various contexts, and reflect on what you have learned if you want your newly acquired knowledge and skills to keep with you. This is especially true when you practice and apply in new settings. Although a well-designed learning experience will give you chances to practice, apply, and reflect, you can further your understanding outside of a classroom by making connections between it and your daily activities and place of employment.
- Video techniques: When watching a video that has been recorded, take a moment to pause and briefly summarize what you have heard. Avoid taking notes while watching live video, especially if it will be available to watch later. To maintain focus, pay attention to what is being said and take part in the conversation. Ask a question or raise your virtual hand in the chat.
- Take advantage of video break-out groups: If available, these in-person, small-group conversations will give you the opportunity to hear other viewpoints or go over difficult subject together.
Taking Care of Oneself
Your success as a learner depends on your ability to take care of yourself. A healthy body and mind are prerequisites for learning.
- Speak out for your educational needs by requesting flexible class participation options that suit your needs. This is crucial for all students, not just those who need special accommodations like a note-taker or an extended test period.
- Scheduling pauses: Schedule your diversions, get up and move around, go outside, and don’t forget to move. There are many apps available to help you stay focused, block distractions, and be reminded to get up and take breaks.
- Keep up good habits: Like your body, your brain need rest and exercise. Go outside, get some sleep, remain hydrated, and eat well.
Management of time
Flexibility is one of the main advantages of online education, yet too much freedom might present new difficulties. In order to keep your learning on track, arrange and manage your time for when and where you study best.
- Keep track of deadlines: Write down crucial due dates on a calendar to ensure that you don’t forget them.
- Reduce distractions: Try to limit them as much as you can in both your real and online environments. Keep the TV off, close any browser tabs that aren’t necessary for your education, etc.
- Make time to learn: This does not require that you locate four-hour blocks on three days of the week. Online education is intended to be modular and adaptable. You may set aside 15 minutes to watch a brief video lecture and compose a three-sentence blog post in response to it. However, it goes without saying that other learning tasks will take more time. Plan ahead and set out time for learning just as you would for exercise or socializing with friends.
The way the courses are designed allows you to watch the videos first, then return to the hands-on exercises. Paul, a student at Centre4eLearning who is enrolled in a graduate IT Project management Course, stated, “I was completing my work on the weekends and evenings, and it was wonderful that I didn’t necessarily have to sit down and concentrate for an extended period of time.
Social and Communal Learning
Online education offers access to both a global network of devoted peers and top-tier professors. Find opportunities to engage with these vibrant learning groups, such as forum participation and peer networking.
- Keep your teacher up to date: When you require assistance, ask your instructor for it; inform them if you are ill, unable to log on, etc.
- Connect with your learning peers virtually and engage in conversation. Introduce yourself, comment to the posts of your peers and the instructor in the discussion boards.
- Make a group on a social media site: In addition to forums, develop a special area where you and your fellow students can interact, discuss shared interests, and offer support to one another. Examples of such areas are Facebook groups and WhatsApp chats.
- Make online study groups: Maintain communication with your fellow students and look for methods to collaborate in small study groups. Apps for video chat are a fantastic way to achieve this.
- Respect yourself and others by: It might be simple to misinterpret someone’s meaning, particularly in asynchronous communication like discussion boards and email. Your peers are actual individuals, just like you. Help create a respectful, helpful community by doing your part.
Logistics
Logistics come last but not least. Getting the specifics of your educational experience right might pay off.
- Ensure that pertinent information is accessible: Gather all of your institution’s phone numbers, email addresses, and support links in one location so you won’t have to search for them in the future. For instance, how can you get in touch with the course’s teaching assistants? Which department should you contact if you have technical problems?
- Amass your equipment: Install the app and run a test run well in advance of the start of a live lecture if the course requires video conferencing software. Make sure you have the necessary account information or access information before a deadline if assignments are posted to a cloud service (such as Google Drive or Dropbox).
- Reduce your reliance on WiFi by working offline by downloading course materials and using an Ethernet cable, if available. Many online courses are compatible with mobile devices, but not all. Make a plan for accessing the internet.
- Save all of your work: Save your work where you can readily access it, either locally on your computer or in the cloud. For instance, you may write your essays in a word processing program or in an email to yourself before pasting them into the course’s learning management system (LMS) and submit them as homework.
Begin learning
Are you looking for additional successful online learning techniques? While using it, learn about online learning: Take our How to Learn Online course to learn some of the most potent, scientifically supported strategies that you can employ on any learning platform right away.
Discover a variety of online courses and programs from Centre4eLearning, find more advice and ideas in our collection of suggestions from Centre4eLearning online students, and offer your own advise in our Facebook group and Instagram stories.