Tips For Success in Online Learning
Develop communication skills, know what is expected of you as a student, be prepared for unexpected events, sharpen your study skills, and learn how to manage stress.
Communication:
Online students interact with classmates and faculty primarily through writing. Students need to communicate their ideas clearly in the course work, while building working relationships with instructors, and forming supportive associations with classmates. Students will use online courseroom tools, email, discussion posts, and possibly voicemail to communicate with classmates and faculty. These messages should be delivered effectively and professionally.
Communication in the Online Courseroom:
- Read and understand faculty expectations before starting work on the course.
- Be courteous and professional.
- Stay on-topic with course discussion posts, which should be substantive and provide
additional insight.
- Before posting comments, always check spelling, grammar, and punctuation and avoid
using slang.
Email Communication:
- Read the email message without bias to avoid misinterpreting the tone or content.
- Respond to the email message in a courteous and professional manner, after briefly
summarizing your understanding of it.
- Articulate concerns to your instructor in detail, e.g., 鈥淧lease explain for me what parts
of my answers to the discussion question were wrong?"
Voicemail communication:
- Talk slowly and clearly.
- Provide your first and last name. Spelling your name may be necessary if the
instructor is unfamiliar with it.
- Provide your complete phone number twice.
- Let the instructor know when you will be available for a return call and include
your time zone.
- Briefly summarize the reason for your call.
Discussion Participation:
- Communicating with classmates and faculty in the discussion forum is one of the most important ways students effectively learn online.
- Discussions contribute to in-depth comprehension of the subject matter, broader
perspectives, exposure to other points of view, application of concepts learned, and a
better grade for students.
- Students who respond to discussion posts early increase the likelihood that they will
complete the course and their degree program.
- Post substantive responses to the courseroom discussion.
- Discussion posts should be well thought out, complete, and clear鈥攊.e., easily read.
- Discussion posts should reflect clear understanding of the topic and include
information that supports the student鈥檚 viewpoint.
- Check grammar, spelling, and organization of ideas before posting.
- Discussion posts should include relevant information from the readings, answer the
instructor鈥檚 questions, and encourage further discussion by engaging classmates
with the interpretation of the issue.
- Post on time so classmates have an opportunity to respond.
- Student posts should fulfill the instructor鈥檚 requirements for assignments by meeting
instructor expectations for the discussion forum.
- Reply to classmates in the course room discussion in a manner that encourages further
discussion. For example, go beyond 鈥淚 agree鈥� by stating why you agree or disagree
with a person, then ask an open-ended question to promote deeper discussion.
- Always submit assignments on time.
Overcoming Obstacles
- Students should plan as well as they can for the possibility of unforeseen technical
problems or crisis events.
- Technical Problems: Online students depend on computer and internet access to
complete their work, yet a hard drive can crash and internet access can be out due to
storms and other circumstances.
- Assignments should be backed up frequently on an external drive or by emailing them
to oneself.
- Know where you can go for free computer and internet access鈥攅.g., public library.
- Acquire permission to use workplace computers.
Study Tips
Study Prep:
- Form study habits that work well for you as an online student.
- Since online courses are reading intensive, students may print hard copies so they can
read on the go.
- Students can copy and paste important information into a word processing
document, which allows them to change to the font size and text layout that best
reduces strain on the eyes.
- Find a comfortable and quite place to study, with minimal distractions and
interruptions.
Take Advantage of Technology :
Download audiobooks
- Listen to text with Natural Reader ().
- Use a text-to-screen (TTS) program such as TextAloud () to
convert text into portable audio files.
- Use the Read Out Loud feature in Adobe programs to listen to PDF documents.
- Use the Booth Library MyMediaMall to check out and download audiobooks, ebooks, and videos. ()
Stress and Wellness
- Since students are balancing professional, personal, and academic commitments,
they often feel overwhelmed. Therefore, it is essential that they apply strategie