A Quick Guide for First-time Online Learners

So, you suddenly get the announcement that classes are suspended, BUT classes will continue ONLINE! 😕Here are a few things that might help your transition to becoming an online student:

Set your time.

Being given the flexibility of time doesn’t mean you have all the time in the world to do the online tasks assigned to you. Time will continue to move even if you don’t. What often helps is to create a schedule for yourself and to allot specific time periods to do specific tasks. You can even schedule your break times as well! Creating space for brain breaks between learning tasks is as important as engaging in the tasks themselves. If you’re shifting to online studying for a long period of time, you may even want to come up with a weekly schedule.

Extra tip: Check out the pomodoro technique

Find your space.

If it’s your first time to study online, then you might be excited to finally get a chance to take classes in your bed, or while your tv is on and your smartphone within reach for any notification—or worse, while binging on Netflix!

Can you really pay full attention to your learning while doing all of the above? Recent studies show that multitasking is a myth! If you really want to study, you have to set up your space for it. Where in your house are you able to focus the most? What is a place that you find comfortable enough, but not distracting? Once you find that space, feel free to customize it. How can you make your space more conducive for learning? What can you add or remove from the space so that you can really focus on your task more?

We have different answers to these questions, so go figure this out on your own: What is the right space for you? When you do find it, use it! In as much as classrooms are built a certain way to make them conducive for learning, there’s probably something in your space that makes it conducive for you.

Pave your Path.

For students accustomed to a face-to-face classroom environment, you are probably used to having your teachers control the pace and path of your learning. Now that you’re more on your own, it’s important to know that learning doesn’t happen by chance, but by design! There’s actually a science and art to learning.

Since self-paced learning is “teaching yourself,” here are some things we know about learning that you can consider:

Retrieving beats reviewing. If you want to master something, the best way to do so is to remember it, to explain it, and to use what you have learned. So, let’s say there is a text that you’ve been asked to read. Instead of reading it over and over again, come up with questions to test yourself and try to answer them without the text (ex. coming up with flash cards might help). Or imagine explaining it to someone or using it in a situation.
Concrete examples clarify. If you’re studying something quite abstract like a mathematical operation or a theoretical framework, you might want to connect that to examples that you’ve encountered or that you’re familiar with. Examples help us remember and understand concepts more deeply. Share these examples with your online classmates! Listening to one another’s examples can help further clarify concepts.
Draw and discuss. One way to help you understand things better is not just to rehearse explaining something, but also to visualize what you are studying. It doesn’t need to look like a work of art. Doodles and diagrams will do. Mixing doodles with words and using them to discuss concepts tap into our ability to “dual code”: to learn through words and visuals.

Extra tip: For more tips on effective studying, you can check out https://www.learningscientists.org

One more tip: “Hang out” Virtually 👀💻

We all know that school is not just about studies. It’s very much about being around friends too! One idea is to set-up virtual dates with friends or just keep each other updated in class or block messenger groups. It can also be a venue to exchange notes about your experience.

Set your time. Find your space. Pave your path.

These are some things you may want to consider as you begin your journey as an online learner. Happy learning!

Here’s a nifty infographic you can pass on 🏃🏽🏃‍♀️🏃🏾‍♂️🧂