Online classes truly tested not just the patience of teachers and students, but also their ability to work independently. Since students are used to face-to-face learning, a lot have struggled with a few internet connection problems, technical difficulties, and being able to focus at home. From a survey conducted by EDUCAUSE Center for Analysis and Research, 70% out of 40,000 students said that they’d prefer face-to-face learning because it’s more engaging. Aside from the typical distractions at home, it’s simply not easy for students to build a designated learning space compared to classrooms.
To be a successful student amidst online learning takes serious commitment and perseverance. In addition to these traits, we came up with some tips for taking online classes—keep reading!
Table of Contents
Read also: Tips On How to Succeed in Working From Home
1.) Build a consistent schedule
Works not just in online learning, creating a routine and sticking to it can help your mind get used to it. Find what works for you: Are you an early bird who likes to review in the mornings, or are you a night owl who loves to stay up and review in the quiet night? While our schedules depend on how we study, building the routine in online classes is important.
Success in online classes is all about one skill that can be used in everything you do in life—that skill is time management. Make a schedule that will help you quickly check what you need to accomplish, and when those tasks need to be completed. Make time for yourself and for studying. During your dedicated study period, try to disconnect from the distractions of social media, your phone or television so that you can focus on what you really want to get done. When you finish the assignments ahead of schedule, it’s important to look ahead and do the job in advanced.
2.) Create a designated study area
One of the perks of taking online classes is personalizing your own study area. While it is common to miss the tables and classrooms you got used to, it is important to build an area exclusive for classes and studying. Feel free to customize your area–but do not include too much personal stuff–you don’t want to get distracted!
3.) Take advantage of various online tools
From homework to lectures, every single aspect of online class now revolves digitally. Using online tools helps with better project management and safer school data storage. Here are some tools you can use for your classes:
- Canva: Canva is an online design tool jampacked with various templates that you can use for projects, presentations, and illustrations. Beginner for designing? No worries! With Canva, you can now design like a pro with its easy navigation.
- Google Docs: More than its powerful search engine, Google came up with various add-ons like Google Docs to help students and teachers with the creation of documents and storage of online files. Google Docs offers various templates for all types of education-related documents such as essays, reports, and projects.
- PlatoForms: Teachers can now easily create online forms and online school forms for class feedbacks, surveys, quizzes, and questionnaires. Our features here at PlatoForms allow you to maximize your productivity by turning PDFs into online forms, converting PDFs to fillable forms online, and more. Simply upload a PDF, convert your PDF to a fillable form online, and share it with students within seconds. Additionally, PlatoForms also provides other powerful features such as Master Forms and Workflow for more convenient management of documents.
Needing a PDF form designer and software for your online school forms? Check out PlatoForms and start to convert your school PDFs to web forms today!
4.) Always communicate
No doubt, learning through computer screens is difficult. Make sure to stay proactive in class: Be honest and communicate with teachers for clarifications. Keeping open communication not just with teachers, but also with classmates and friends helps a lot to stay engaged and in the loop of what’s happening.
Online portals, discussion forums and Facebook can help to locate students in the same course or even in your local area. Connect with peers and teammates, stay in touch, help each other with proofreading, tips, and exchange of resources. Talking to other students can help you to stay connected.
Online learning is enhanced by classroom participation and discussion. Class participation is also a way to communicate with your friends and classmates.
5.) Be persistent
Since online learning is very limited compared to face-to-face classes, it is important to stay hungry for knowledge by reading and studying more than the usual class. Luckily, students today do not have to go through stacks of card catalogs in the library just to search for information. With the continuous help of technology, you can easily research and learn online.
You may be logging in to an online class session from the bedroom or living room, but that doesn’t mean you can let things like an on-time slip. Setting yourself up for success at home by following these tips can be a challenge, so it’s important that you do so.
6.) Accomplish everything ahead of time
Unexpected things happen. Power outage, computer viruses, data corruption, and so much more. To prevent this, make sure to submit your assignments and deliverables before the deadline as much as possible. Having backup documents also helps–it won’t hurt to save another copy of your document to ensure security.
Your forms in PlatoForms are safely stored online. With our secured data storage, you don’t have to worry about data corruption anymore.
7.) Separate study days to personal time
Since online classes aren’t spent in designated classrooms, it’s hard to separate school stuff from personal life. Studying at home is convenient, yes, but always remember to not mix up your school tasks with personal hobbies! Balancing life and studies can help you prevent future burnouts.
Aside from having a designated study area, dedicate a specific time each day or each weekly to studying. There will always be many distractions in life, and you’ll have to deal with them. If you are a night owl, then wake up an extra hour earlier and spend some extra time studying. If you are a late-night person, then dedicate some of your Facebook and Instagram time to studying.
8.) Overcome procrastination and get rid of distractions
One of the ways to get rid of distractions is to take a break in all social media sites. This way, you can focus on the work you’ll do and won’t t waste time from browsing your friend’s vacation photos or celebrity tweets.
It’s so hard to not procrastinate when you’re in the comfort of your bed and television.
Totally getting rid of procrastination takes time—we all procrastinate once in our lives (Okay, sometimes, it happens frequently). Procrastination can hurt your overall schedule and can lead to a domino effect. Try taking baby steps such as eliminating distractions like phones, social media, and more. To overcome procrastination, take some scientifically proven tips for overcoming procrastination that can help you focus such as rewarding yourself once you finish a task.
9.) Make studying fun
Thanks to the internet, learning has innovated in many different ways that we never thought it could be. Now, studying can be done through games, trivia, puzzles, and quizzes. Here are some of the applications you can use for interactive learning:
- Quizlet: Make flashcards and use different learning tools with Quizlet! It offers various subjects like art, humanities, language, and more.
- Linguee: Linguee is a bilingual dictionary that provides reliable translations–and you don’t need the internet to use it–translations are available offline!
10.) Take a break
Taking a break actually helps you to stay focused and get rid of study fatigue. Do not forget to take a break in between studying to refresh your mind. Include a 10 or 20-minute break every hour to relax, or set a stable time where you can eat lunch, make something to drink, or just ease your mind a little.
Online classes might take some time in getting used to, but with the right mindset and perseverance, it’s not impossible to succeed! Though conducted online, always stay hydrated and connected with friends—and ease the online school life!
PlatoForms is here for your online class needs
PlatoForms is an online PDF online software that provides Online Fillable Forms useful for surveys, data gathering, and online quizzes. Our PDF editor can turn your PDFs into forms, allow you to complete PDF forms online, and convert your PDFs to online forms. This is helpful for all aspects of your schoolwork such as project forms, school forms, and report forms. Check out how our software can improve your education today!
