The COVID-19 outbreak prolongation has not only affected our social lives, it has taken its toll on our education. In order to survive during this crisis, it’s important to come up with alternatives to adapt with the current situation instead of giving up.
Online classes have been the talk of the town recently since it is the best alternative to continue giving out education to students and a lot of education institutions have started following the trend of online courses.
Before, the assumptions made by the students might be that online classes will be easier as they don’t require a face-to-face class session. By now, a lot of students will have realized that online studying is not as easy as ABC.
Because if you think this is your chance to slack off and attend classes half-heartedly, you might want to try to think about it again.
Online classes involve a lot of self-management. You will need to be good at managing yourself and your time during this period of crisis.
Key Skills To Study Online Effectively
You will get to practice those skills along the way, and you will be good at it in no time if you establish a good study system for yourself.
Here are some helpful tips to study online effectively:
Tips To Study Online Effectively
1. Set The Right Mindset and Identify Your Objectives
Mindset
First thing first, what you want to do is set your mindset.
What you need to bear in mind is; without supervision, physical attendance, and face-to-face guidance, some might slack off, and some might give up.
Hence, online classes need a higher level of dedication and attention. You need to participate and be engaged consistently during the period of online classes.
In a nutshell, it’s important for you to take online classes seriously as you would for physical classes.
Objectives
To have an effective online study, it’s important to be passionate and interested about your chosen course of study as it will determine your will to be disciplined and dedicated.
However, for the cases where it’s a compulsory course, it’s difficult to be engaged if you’re not a fan of it. The alternative for you is to focus on your objectives.
Grab a piece of paper and a pen. Start identifying your objectives.
State why you are taking this class and what do you desire to achieve from it. For example:
- To master a specific skill
- To improve your competence in a specific area
- To obtain a license or certification
- To expand your knowledge about a subject
It could be anything that can motivate you to keep going. Identify them and bring them with you along the journey of online classes to help you persevere.
2. Come Up With A Study Plan and Stick To It
Make a personal schedule
To make it easier for you to stay on track, make a timetable for your classes. Make sure none of the classes overlap and at the same time, be generous with the number of classes so that it will not go beyond your capability.
Take short breaks regularly
As much as studying is important, taking a break in between the classes is pretty much the same. Studying online requires you to stare at the screen for a long period of time, and a higher level of attention. Hence you need to look away from the screen occasionally to maintain the productivity of your brain, and the condition of your eyes.
Establish short-term goals
Let’s take baby steps. It may seem difficult and long if we aim straight for the objective now. Set short-term goals for yourself for every class. You can write your goals for the day, for the week, or even for the month, entirely up to you. Having short-term goals will help you to move forward.
3. Create Your Own Study Space
The hardest part of studying online may come from the factor of being at home, in your room, in your complete personal space — that explains a lot, I must agree with that.
Most of the time you cannot deny the desire to laze around and open the Youtube tab. The other times, it gets harder to wake up from your bed and give your full dedication to the classes with Netflix at your fingertips.
Arrange study space
Create a study space of your own. Pick a corner that is quiet and comfortable for you to be able to be focused and motivated.
You are free to decide on the arrangement of your study space according to your liking so that you will be energized during the classes. Remember to clean the space regularly to boost your motivation to study.
Eliminate distraction
Turn off your mobile phones and television, or you can put them in silent mode. It’s also important to keep your eyes away from them. So, it would be helpful if you place your mobile phones somewhere that is not visible to your eyes.
It’s fine to keep the music on since some of us study better with the presence of background music. However, make sure the volume is appropriate for it to not become a distraction.
Since you will be using your computer for the classes, there will be temptation to open your social media such as Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Make sure you log off your social media from your computer beforehand to channel your focus to your classes.
A distraction-free environment will help you to practice focusing during your online classes and while doing your work. At the same time, it also eliminates the chance to procrastinate.
Prepare the materials needed
– Make sure you have a stable internet connection as it is vital to be able to connect to the internet to attend the class and communicate with other people.
– Get your computer, notebooks, and stationery ready and place it on your table within your reach.
– Don’t forget to put bottled water, coffee, or tea, whichever you prefer beside your computer to help you stay hydrated.
4. Communicate With Other People
Online classes may make it seem difficult for you to maintain your communication and teamwork skills as you will be working individually most of the time. To resolve that, we encourage students to practice these three strategies;
- Participate in online study groups
- Take part during in-class discussions
- Voice out your opinion and questions at the end of the class
For students that have difficulties speaking up, you are prone to be demotivated as you may not be able to fully participate in the class with other people.
It’s easier for you to stay silent and work by yourselves; in other words, being in your comfort zone. Take note that this may not only affect your communication skill, but your teamwork skill as well.
So, for you to get the most benefit of online classes, you need to step out of your comfort zone. As difficult as it sounds, it’s easier if you look at it from another perspective.
You can look at it as a challenge, or you can look at it as a better way for you to practice your communication skill. Attending classes online doesn’t require facing other people in real life, hence the more reason why it should be easier for you since you will only be communicating inside your room.
5. Ask For Assistance
Studying online also means you need to adapt with being a self-taught learner. Some people may be fine with it, and some may struggle to get familiar with it. But that doesn’t mean you cannot reach out for help and ask for assistance from the teachers or classmates, whoever you’re more comfortable with.
If you are shy to ask with the presence of other people, you can always contact them after class personally. It’s more helpful to ask questions than just wonder by yourself when you’re unsure of the things you learned during the class.
6. Reward Yourself
Lastly and most importantly, reward yourself. No matter how big or small of an achievement, congratulate yourself for getting through it.
No other people know your struggles and efforts better than yourself. It will be nice to acknowledge your hard work and persistence. So, pat your shoulder and reward yourself. It can be anything that you fancy, be it your favorite food, movies, etc. Just remember to reward yourself, it can also work as a form of motivation for yourself.
Contact us now to enquire online courses! We provide FREE one-to-one consultations for students!
Contact us to find out more!
International Student enquiries:
Email: [email protected]
For more stories like this, join the Excel Education community on Facebook
Need help with your uni application? Connect with us here
Nurul Nadira
I am an English undergraduate student who reads and listens to bands.