HOW TO STUDY ONLINE COURSES EFFECTIVELY

With the uncertain times of the present age, the impending risks with everyone’s jobs and the increased awareness about up-skilling; it is no wonder that folks are starting to turn heavily to online courses to improve their skills and expertise.

But learning online is no easy feat. Learning online is very very difficult.

People are so bought in by the advantages that they forget that it comes with its own set of challenges. Attrition rate is high in online courses and completion rates abysmal.

As someone who has completed more than a dozen courses from different platforms over the years, I am sharing here my strategies for learning effectively in remote classes.

PLAN, PLAN, PLAN

First and foremost, make sure you read the prerequisites as well as time needed for both viewing, practicing, and studying the materials.

Plan accurately for this and factor in buffer time for any contingencies.

Chalk out approximately when you will devote this time and set reminders for yourself. Pencil in this time in your calendar and add it to your to-do list.

This way, every ordinary day you will know that this time is blocked and you need to prioritize your other tasks around it.

When a life crisis or deadline hits, online courses are often ditched as we think it’s flexible; hence we can always make up later. But that only works if you have been religiously at it on the other regular non-emergency days. Else, we can’t!

PREPARE

This is a biggie. Try to carve a space for studying- even if just a table and chair. Make sure you study in this spot as you would in college.

The beauty of this method is that eventually you get conditioned and you automatically switch to study mode in this spot.

It might seem like a big ask but environment and setting are significant because you are your only motivator in these courses. So, set up yourself for success by setting up your space. Like great chefs say- mise en place!

PARTICIPATE

Participate in the course forums. Ask questions and queries. Be active in the community channels that exist for your class. Answer others’ when you can.

You can build a class like feeling and tap into the student network in virtual classrooms too. It just takes time and effort.

This will improve engagement and ensure that you know how to ask for help when you get ‘stuck’. And here’s the bonus, it expands your network.

Especially if you have been active, when the class ends, you can guarantee that your classmates will gladly welcome the idea of taking the connection beyond those forums. Think LinkedIn, Twitter, even in person. This is how networking happens in the modern era. Best of all, you know these people and they know you and you have common ground.

PERSISTENCE

Stay on schedule. This is the most important point that I will share wth newbie remote learners.

The flexibility and ‘soft deadlines’ (most courses) can trick you into falling behind. Yes, I know I touched on this in #1- but it is worth repeating.

Factor in the lack of accountability – and it almost always means that you can quickly start to lag and be overwhelmed with a huge pile of videos, assignments and reading materials. Like traditional college, with the end of course approaching, everyone will be busy- Professors, TAs, other students – trying to wrap things up. You might not get adequate help in time.

POINTERS AND NOTES

Make notes.

It is crazy how few students make notes. Please do it. Digital or handwritten, the mode does not matter. Just jot down pointers and notes to yourself that you can review later.

It helps to understand and reinforce the concepts. You can use them for revision of the lessons for assignments and exams and at any point in the future, long after the course is over.

These are my tips to study effectively for online courses. Hope they make your learning journey easier and ace your ambitions.

All the Best and Success!