We are continuing with our Back to School series of articles with a post today about study tips. Whether you are a seasoned veteran with eLearning courses or you have never taken an eLearning course before now, you should find the following tips helpful in your distance learning coursework. Online courses allow students a great deal of freedom, but also require a great deal of self-discipline. Read on for a great discussion about staying on track with your distance learning coursework.
As we mentioned above, one of the great things about eLearning courses is the amount of freedom they offer students. With most distance learning classes, students are allowed to complete required reading, assignments, and other coursework at their own pace as long as specified deadlines are met. While this freedom is a wonderful thing when it comes to planning your study schedule around a job, family, and other obligations, it can also be a challenge to a student’s sense of self-discipline.
It is a good idea to map out all of your course requirements at the beginning of the course so you have a good idea of what is expected of you and how much time you have to complete each item. Also, setting daily goals for yourself (such as a set number of pages to read each day or a certain portion of assignments to complete each day) can also help you organize your time and prevent you from trying to cram a month’s worth of reading into a couple of days time. You can even track your goals on an electronic calendar and set reminders for yourself so you will be sure no deadlines slip through the cracks. Make sure your goals are realistic and spread your coursework out evenly over the amount of time you have to finish the course. Goal setting and calendaring assignments is especially helpful if you are enrolled in more than one course at a time. This will give you a good idea of “crunch times” during the span of your coursework when multiple class assignments and deadlines may overlap, so you can plan for busier weeks and take advantage of slow weeks.
Another thing to keep in check when you are working on distance learning coursework is the temptation to procrastinate. This may sound like a statement of the obvious, but sometimes it is easier said than done. Much of your coursework will probably be done using a computer and the Internet. And, this means it will be all too easy to be distracted by email, instant messaging, Facebook, Twitter, and all of your other favorite websites. It is human nature to do these things, so the smart thing to do is just plan for it. Allow yourself a small allotment of time to spend on things not related to your course and once that amount of time is up, close those applications or websites that are a distraction to you and focus on your coursework.
Even if you consider yourself to be an excellent student with impeccable study habits, taking online courses can be challenging to even the most dedicated student. By organizing your coursework, managing your time, and reducing procrastination, you can set yourself up for a successful eLearning experience. Do you have eLearning study tips not mentioned here? Feel free to leave your advice and ideas in a comment below.