10 Best Tips For Success in Online College Classes

So, you’ve decided to take an online course. Maybe you’ve decided to take all of your classes online. There are certainly many great reasons for doing this. If your chosen school is to far away for you to attend in person, or your schedule requires more flexibility than on campus courses offer, online classes are a great alternative.

Unfortunately, many students begin taking online courses only to realize that it takes more time and effort than they expected. If you want to get the most out of your online, learning experience, check out the ten tips below.

1. Start With a Solid Game Plan

Being prepared and knowing what to expect is key. When you receive your syllabus read it thoroughly. Mark important dates on your calendar. Pay special attention to any group meetings, test dates, supplies that you will need to pick up, and other important information.

Once you have that information, you can create a bit of a master schedule for the term. You can also set reminders for upcoming due dates, and plan extra study time when big projects will be hot and heavy.

2. Don’t Miss Group Chats

Depending on the nature of the course you are taking, you might be required to participate in group chats, live discussions, or online lectures. Don’t underestimate the importance of these, and don’t skip them.

Because of the nature of online learning, it’s very difficult to catch up after you have missed out on important discussions. You might also find that instructors are much less likely to excuse missing a class that doesn’t require that you leave your home.

3. Schedule Enough Time

Many students make the mistake of underestimating the amount of time they will need to dedicate to each online class that they take. This is largely because there is a bit of a perception that online courses are easier than their on campus counterparts.

The truth is, you will need to put in just as much time, and in some cases more. Here are a few suggestions for calculating the amount of study time you should plan on for an online course.

4. Use Technology And Online Resources to Help You Succeed

Here is some good news! There are a huge number of websites, apps, and other tech based solutions that you can use to ensure you complete your online courses successfully. Here are just a few that many students use:

• Evernote: For taking and organizing notes, sharing with others, and organizing projects.
• Google Docs: A free alternative for MS Office and other that is accessible anywhere.
• Review: review of the most popular services by customers
• Khan Academy: Online learning to help you master a variety of subjects
• StudyBlue Flashcards: Enhance your studying by creating sets of flashcards

5. Find a Comfortable Place to Work

Before classes begin, try to identify a couple of places where you can comfortably work. Your environment should be physically comfortable and well lit. You’ll also want to make sure that you can feel comfortable participating fully in your class.

For example, the coffee shop down the street might be perfect for working on homework and doing research. However, it might not be the best place to take a class that involves video conferencing.

6. Remember That Office Hours Are For You as Well

Keep your instructor’s contact information on hand, and jot down their office hours. If you have questions, or simply want to introduce yourself, call or send an email. The fact that you may not ever meet your instructor in person does not mean that they aren’t willing to help you outside of class.

7. Get Help When You Need It

Another one of the dangers of taking online classes is that it’s easy to convince yourself that you can catch up when you fall behind, or that you will eventually understand a topic that is difficult for you. When that happens, you might need more help than you can get on campus.

Hiring a tutor is always an option. You could even consider joining or creating a study group. If things get too difficult, you may find that it is your writing assignments that are holding you back. Fortunately, there are services that help you polish up your writing with editing, proofreading, and other help. If you use this option, do your research.

8. Take Some Time to Get Familiar With The Tools And Websites You’ll be Using

Before you can begin your class, you may be required to take some of the following steps:

• Create an Online Account
• Download Materials
• Install Software or an App
• Learn to Navigate a New Website

Don’t make the mistake of waiting until the night before or the morning your new class begins to do all of this. Make sure that you get this done ahead of time so that you can identify any issues. If you wait until the last minute, university tech support may not be able to help you in time to get started on your first day.

9. Consider Taking a Mix of Online And on Campus Courses

If you are able to, it can be a good idea to take both online and on campus classes. The online courses can help you to maximize your credit hours while allowing you to save gas or enjoy the other benefits of learning online.

On the other hand, if you mix in one or two campus based classes, you will be able to socialize with other students, get face time with your instructors, and enjoy some of the experiences you can only have by being on campus.

10. Get Rid of Tempting Distractions

If you continually flip over to social media or play games when you should be focusing on your class, your grade will probably suffer. This is especially true if you are taking a class in real time. You’ll want to find a way to avoid these distractions.

One method is to download software that simply blocks access to apps or websites that could be distracting for you. All you have to do is indicate what you want to avoid and when.

Another option you have is to have one device that is ‘dedicated’ strictly for school, work, and household and personal management related tasks. If you have your games, social media apps, and other ‘fun’ things stored on an alternate device, you won’t have to worry about temptation.

Conclusion

Ultimately, the path to getting the most out of your online classes includes planning, self discipline, time management, and using all of the resources that are available to you. Hopefully the ten tips listed above will help you reach your goals.

How to be a Better Reader

Take a trip to your local elementary school, and you’ll likely see one subject touted more than the rest on bulletin boards, classroom doors and motivational posters: reading. Reading is crucial to the scholastic success of grade schoolers, and even more so to college students.

Obviously, you know how to read. But do you read well? Here are some things to consider to improve your reading skill, comprehension and speed.

1. Do you really need to read it?
If you’re reading for a class, consider whether you really need to read each of the assigned texts. Some professors will call readings (and textbooks) “required” when the material will be completely covered in class or irrelevant to your performance in class.

This is not to say that all required reading is optional, or that optional reading isn’t edifying. In order to do your best at anything, you have to prioritize. Understanding which readings to focus on and which to skim or pass over can help you to learn better.

2. Mind your setting
Noise levels, visual distractions, friends, other people in general and even lighting can affect how much attention you are able to focus on reading. Everybody studies differently, and you know best what works for you. Try to match the difficulty, importance and retention of your text to the setting you intend to read it in.

3. Choose the right reading format
Today you can get most texts in multiple formats. The format you choose should be based on personal preference as well as what you have to do with the material.

For example, some people dislike reading ebooks because they remember material better if it is on a physical page. Other times, ebooks trump paper copies because they can be picked up anytime—in line, on the subway or during otherwise wasted time.

If you prefer the low-tech option so you can underline, highlight and write in the margins, keep that in mind when buying your textbooks at the beginning of the year. On the flip side, if you’re going to use your textbook for research papers or essays, it might be worth it to have the digital version so you can copy and paste quotes into your assignments.

4. Read actively
A mistake that people often make when reading less-than-invigorating material is being too passive. This causes lower comprehension and recall of material later.

If you’re reading something that is important (see step 1), make an effort to actively engage the material. For a textbook, this might be as simple as mentally answering the reflective questions throughout the chapter. For a literary work, analyzing things like plot, setting and character development as you go will help you discuss the work later. Whatever you’re reading, make sure you understand it as you go instead of realizing that you’re confused after plowing through a hundred pages.

5. Read often
Social media makes it easy to be well-read in your field. Take a few minutes to follow some reputable sources on Twitter, Facebook or even Pinterest and read the articles that catch your eye. This is great fodder for class discussions and papers, but also helps familiarize you with terminology and give you practice assessing the usefulness of different research.

The ability to read well is taken for granted at the college level. If your skills aren’t up to par or you’re looking to be a more efficient student, try these tips.

It’s that time of the year again: the dreaded finals time.

I don’t know about y’all, but I am ready to turn in my final term paper, sit on the couch, and veg out for a long winter break. But before any of us can do that, we should prep and work on our finals. Hopefully, it’s no surprise that there are a few studies out there that offer some helpful tips on prepping for the end of the semester, and I thought I’d share my favorite seven from a few different sources.

1. Create a master to-do list and a schedule for the remaining days in the semester. Break it down by due dates and exam dates and make sure you give yourself enough time to be comfortable, but still get everything done within a manageable schedule.
2. Triage your study time. Do you think you should spend equal amounts of time preparing for each course? You don’t — proportion your study time; make sure you spend more time on the course where you feel less confident.
3. Decide if it’s going to be a grand tour or lots of local attractions. Does your professor want a cumulative term paper/final, or are they looking for specific portions of the class? Figure out the answer and respond accordingly with a continuation of the triage method.
4. Develop summary sheets for each class. Figure out what happened on the important class days and organize or rewrite your notes to help formulate study guides or paper outlines.
5. Writing and study groups can be helpful if they make sense. My cohort and I have a paper writing group for one of our classes. Though we are all working on different projects, the camaraderie and shared experience are helpful for the writing process.
6. Pace yourself! I know when finals crunch time comes around, we often turn to marathon study sessions and writing periods, thinking that’s the best way to crank out as much work as possible in as little time as possible; however, this is actually not the most effective strategy. Make the most of the time you have by pacing yourself: focus for shorter periods of time. Take breaks and walk around.
7. Manage your anxiety. By listening to calming music, stretching or breathing deeply, you can avoid stress and release negative thoughts. Sometimes we avoid anxiety by avoiding the things that are making us anxious (e.g., studying for an exam or writing a paper), which can lead to procrastination and even more anxiety. Listening to music and intentional breathing and stretching can help you manage your energy in a constructive way. I love creating playlists or listening to the same song on repeat the whole time I’m writing. My entire master’s thesis was written to “Down with the Sickness” by Disturbed.

I hope you have found some of these tips interesting and/or helpful, and I wish us all luck during this end-of-the-term marathon. Remember the goal is in view