#uni #distancelearning #hustle #aceyourcollegeclass #studygram #remotelearning #zoom #collegelife #unilife
As someone who has taken an online course or two as a college student, to now someone who teaches online college courses, here's some inside information to acing your online college courses:
1-Check Your Email
Direction is undoubtedly important when taking an online course. The only way to receive direction is via communication- and the only way to communicate with your professor is email. Class might be canceled, an assignment might be postponed, there might be a test reminder... communication is key and checking your email is the only way to stay in the loop. I recommend checking it at least twice a day: once in the morning before classes, and once in the evening once all classes are completed.
2-Check your Syllabus
Get to know what the course is about, and what assignments you'll have. The syllabus also has the professor's contact information.
3-Mark Your Calendar
After checking your syllabus, mark down all important dates. Dates such as meeting times, assignment due dates, midterms and finals. It helps to put reminders on your phone (Google calendar is great for this) for important dates.
4-Create A Studyspace
It is easy to feel overstimulated when taking classes from home. Creating a designated studyspace at home helps ease the transition into school/study mode. I also recommend, if possible, get a desk that can be used while seated or standing. Sitting for hours is not healthy and it is easy to get tired and bored easily this way. Switch it up. Stand for your classes and sit while doing your assignments.
5-Find Motivation
It's hard to be motivated when you're feeling isolated. Try to remember why you're in university in the first place. What are your goals? I also tell my students that your end of semester GPA can be thought of as a micro-diploma. This helps remove the stress of a full 4 years of work and helps focus students' attention to the semester at hand. Read our blog post about our idea of the micro-diploma. Motivation could even be found watching movies. Check out our blog post about Movie Motivation.
6-Take Breaks
Take your much needed breaks! Exhaustion, frustration, and burn-out are all real things. It's hard to stay motivated if you're dealing with any of the above. Take those breaks! Walk around the block (with a face mask if necessary), stand up and stretch, go grab a refreshment, do a quick yoga session- anything you need to clear your mind and relax your body.
7-Learn Your Learning Habits
Are you a hands on person? A morning person? A night owl? Do your studying/editing/reviewing during these hours. Additionally, are you a kinesthetic learner? A visual learner? Set up your study habits around the type of learner you are. Unsure? Check out our blog post about finding out what type of learner you are.
8-Create A Study/Support Group
Strength comes in numbers! Make friends with your classmates. You can all help each other study, remind each other of test dates, help each other with notes and homework. Also, college is a great time to be social. A social life is important- so make those friends! Networking is important too and your classmates might end up being your colleagues in the future- so make those connections.
9-Know Your Tools
It is impossible to navigate your online classes if you don't know how to use the platform. Get to know what you will be working with. Will your classes be on Zoom, Skype, Google Classroom/Hangouts, Blackboard, ClassIn? Sign in early and play around with the classroom tools.
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