How to Succeed in Online Schooling
By: Andrea Reinhardsdottir
September 1, 2020
In the world of online schooling and remote-schooling, it can be easy to fall off track with your courses and assignments; it takes much self-discipline to succeed. Having control in your life and school is essential to flourishing in the new environment.
It is essential to make your own goals and deadlines. To do that, you can make two types of goals: long term and short term. Your long-term goals include when you want to graduate, when you want to finish your course, and what you wish your final grade to be. Your short-term goals will consist of the time that you are willing to put into your studies every day, to finish a project for class, or to study for a test.
Keep an intense focus on your short term goals; they are the steps to completing your long term goals, because “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” After finishing a short term goal, like a project, reward yourself with something. For example: Watch your favorite TV show, order pizza, or buy that shirt you’ve wanted for a while. Whatever it is, it is crucial to give your brain a bit of dopamine too.
One of the most challenging problems facing online students today is procrastination. Without the class meetings and a teacher to remind you to do your work, you can end up having to do all your work at the end of the semester or taking much too long to finish the course, this could become a disaster.
Think of a time when you had an important assignment, and you believed you had plenty of time to accomplish it, so you put it off. That procrastination perhaps led to long nights, lost weekends, and a rush job to meet the deadline. When you do that with four classes that are under your control, you can lose opportunities to make choices with your life. To avoid this, try doing a bit of work every single day or every weekday.
A weekly schedule laid out with your plans and classes will help you stay on track and make sure you put in your work. A google calendar is a great option to plan and visualize your week and is also easy to use. You can make your study blocks in it, that’ll make it feel a bit more like a regular school schedule, and if you’re more used to that, it’ll be incredibly beneficial.
Let your parents or roommates know when you are working on school, this will eliminate distractions from them, and they’ll give you your space to study. Additionally, stay away from the TV or phone; this will only draw your attention elsewhere.
One also must adapt to the new learning environment, create a study schedule, and learn how to balance your life with your school.
You can spend all day learning and studying, but it is also essential to leave time for your friends and family. Set a time for when you study and a time to do what you want. Some people wake up early, do their work, and finish in time to spend the rest of their day doing something else. Others like to study later in the day, leaving the day free.
Always remember that just because the school has a more flexible schedule, it doesn´t mean that you can put in any less work than in a traditional “bricks and mortar” school. The flexible schedule can be extremely beneficial; you can work at an accelerating pace and give yourself time to learn the material.
Make sure to take notes, do it in your own words; this helps you engage with, and understand the material more. The Cornell Method for note-taking has been studied and has proven to be more effective than any other. Then before any quiz or test, review the notes as much as you need to.
Another thing to keep in mind is that class time and study time are not the same. Going through videos and assignments is your class time, while your study time is your review of the material.
If you have any questions about your studies, don´t be afraid to ask your teachers. Your teachers are there to help you and want you to succeed. If the teacher is unreachable at the time, then try seeing if Khan Academy or Crash Course can help you answer your question. Be flexible in the changes, and adjust to the different resources.