Moving to Online Classes? Here’s Some Tips to Stay Productive.

In light of the recent outbreak of the coronavirus, many colleges and universities have halted on-campus operations for the safety of students and faculty members and have moved classes to an online format. This shift is bound to cause a lot of challenges for both the instructors and the students as they learn how to navigate an online learning environment.  Today, we are giving you some tips on how to succeed while taking a course in an online learning environment to help benefit those affected by a shift to online classes. 

Make a Schedule!

When the shift to online instruction occurs, instructors will usually lecture using one of two methods: live streaming and pre-recorded lectures. If you have the option because the instructor is allowing you to watch pre-recorded lectures, try to complete the lectures at the same time as you previously did during the day. If that doesn’t make sense for you, try to make your schedule such that you take in the information at a scheduled time each day. Remaining consistent will allow you to focus more on the course content, and less around when you are going to get it done.

The same concept applies to completing homework assignments. Try to make a schedule where you are completing your online assignments based on a schedule that you create to ensure everything gets done in a timely manner. Some of you may be experiencing new levels of flexibility in an online format, and may be able to schedule your homework completion during or right after your lectures, which is what is recommended over what most students do in the traditional classroom setting, which is waiting until the due date to complete the homework, which is days after they consumed the lecture content. 

Use Your Resources!

If your online class allows you to play and replay lectures on demand, take advantage of it! When I was in school, I remembered instances where the instructor couldn't slow the class down for just two people, and those two people ended up falling behind because they needed to have a concept repeated once or twice before moving on. If your online lecture allows you to pause and replay videos, use that feature to ensure you don't fall behind.

Some instructors are inherently better at teaching through the medium they've been using for the past ten to thirty years. I've met instructors that are excellent in person that turn out to be barely average when teaching online due to technical limitations or their style just not working well with an online format. If you find yourself in this predicament, it is strongly recommended that you seek out additional resources usually this is YouTube videos or other websites that allow you to see the material from another point of view. Many students already do this supplement their understanding of the course, but it will be especially important if your instructor is moving from in-person to online teaching. One key thing to remember is that you should make sure that you are seeking out the right information friendly's online resources and matching that to what your course requires. It's not a very good thing to study for something that's not on the test.

Build an Online Community with Your Classmates

Many students develop relationships with their classmates and study, discuss the course material, or do the homework together in person outside of class. When the class is shifted to online format, this becomes a whole lot harder because the in-person interaction no longer exists. If you are the type of person who relied on the group of people to study with or discuss the course content in person you need to actively develop an online presence for you and your classmates so that the same community based learning can continue. It's recommended that you use resources such as discord, Skype, Google chat, and Google Drive to create an online environment that allows you or your fellow students to continue to interact with one another and benefit from that interaction.