Becoming A Successful Online Learner

[ZapperZ]

I wrote these tips for my students, which I gathered from many different sources, and which I learned a lot from the online instructor workshops that I took over the summer. So I'll share these tips here since many of you students (or "learners", which is the term these online workshops tend to use for the students) will be engaging in remote or online classes this Fall. These are, by no means, the only way to succeed in your online courses.

• Be a self-motivated, independent learner. Take responsibility for the learning process.
• Be well-organized and have self-discipline, especially with time. Force yourself to set aside an amount of time each day for the course. Expect to allocate 12-15 hours per week on the typical 3-credit course.
• Know when deadlines are and able to submit all assignments on time. These are typically stated on the Syllabus, or on the course's Learning Management System (LMS). Use the course's calendar, or put alerts on your own calendar.
• Be inquisitive and curious. Not only will this help you with the course material, but it also might help you to navigate the course's webpage (LMS), and other technological challenges. Learners who tend to explore everything about the course often are not "lost" in where to find information.
• Participate in discussion forums, group projects, and synchronous class sessions. These activities after often designed with specific purposes, even if you may not realize their benefits in the beginning. They often strengthened the central material and deepened the understanding of relevant topics. In addition, be aware of proper netiquette when communicating online.
• Able to think critically before writing a post or a response. This is important especially if your discussion posts are graded and if here is a requirement for you to make "substantive" or quality posts.
• Be a proficient reader and communicator. You must be able to communicate effectively in writing, because this may probably be your major form of communication in an online class, and a significant form of assessment of your knowledge and ability. In a typical online course, you will have to do quite a significant amount of reading as your primary learning means.
• Be aware of the basic technical proficiency required for the course. If these are not listed in the Syllabus or on the course's LMS page, ask the instructor at the very beginning. You must know what technical ability and skills are needed to complete the course. This includes hardware requirement, software requirement, and basic working knowledge of them.
• Be willing to tolerate technical glitches and not be frustrated by them. Assume that technical glitches will happen. Be prepared. Make back-up plans if your Wi-Fi goes down (is there a Starbucks nearby that you can go to?), or what if your computer goes on the blitz? Did you make backup of your work elsewhere? Claiming that "My computer ate my homework" may not work all the time.
• Be comfortable in cyberspace. Often, you may have to search for information, sources, help, etc. Knowing how and where to look on the internet is a always very useful. This, however, does not mean that you should know how to cheat on homework, quizzes, and exams. Be aware that your instructor often knows most of the tricks in the book. You are risking a lot when you resort to such tactics.
• Be unafraid to speak up and seek help when problems arise. Communicate with the instructor regularly. Contact Student Services or your Advisor for academic matters. Contact the Help Desk for technical problems. No one will know that you're having problems or issues if you do not speak up or contact the relevant parties. These are services that have been set up with the purpose to assist you and solve the relevant problems.

Online or remote classes can be a challenge as a learner. However, if you follow these tips, it can be less daunting and may even be rewarding, because you know that you will have accomplished something that was predominantly through your own effort and hard work.

Good luck with your online/remote classes.

Zz.

 

[jedishrfu]

Great advice, especially now that colleges are reversing direction back to online learning.