5 Tips to Better Online Learning
Taking online courses is now the choice of many people, thanks to the internet. However, it is also a common thing that many people drop out of online courses. How to commit to online learning and not drop? Hereafter are 5 steps to kill your online courses.
Tip 1: Have a Clear Motivation
Before jumping right into courses, it is better to what are you taking them for. Usually, people will take online courses to obtain skills or knowledge that is essential to their jobs. For instance, learning another language or learning basic financial knowledge. By having a clear motivation of taking the course, you will better at committing to it.
Tip 2: Choose Prestigious Courses
Nowadays, there are tons of online courses but not all of them are good for you. Instead of googling and picking up a course randomly, it is better that you check the quality of the course. This can be made by reading the comments of previous customers or checking the source of the courses. The courses must be made by someone and you should make sure that someone has a good degree in what he/she is teaching.
Some of the online courses that I has good reputation are edX, Khan Academy, Duolingo, and Udacity. They have sources from universities such as Harvard, MIT, Princeton, etc which prove their high credibility.
Tip 3: Make a Timetable
Usually, every online course will have a course overview in which you can find a list of units or topics you will learn in that course. You should take that list and make a timetable out of it.
The tip for a good timetable is learning a little bit every day. There is no need to rush. And don’t forget to give yourself some free days. This will prevent you from getting bored with the course after just a few days.
The below timetable is mine when I was learning for AP Calculus AB Exam. As you can see, the timetable specify the date of the exam, the units and their according date on which I have to learn them. The massive work of the course is spread throughout 3 months. I learn a little bit every day so I never feel bored of the course or overwhelmed by it.
Tip 4: Take Notes
Even though you are learning online, it is still important to take notes. You should buy a new notebook and use it to note down not only basic knowledge but also questions you have regarding the lessons.
By doing so, you will remember the basic knowledge better and enhance your critical thinking regarding the topic.
The notebooks also serve as a hardcopy of your learning process in case you want to review for tests or interview and the internet is not working.
And if you are taking many online courses at the same time, it is recommended that you have different notebook for different courses as it will help you with your content organization.
Tip 5: Find Yourself a Classmate
You do not have to be alone in the killing online courses quests by inviting somebody to be your classmate. And your classmate can be anyone. It can be one of your friends in real life or it can be someone you meet online who also take the same courses as you.
The reason why having a classmate is recommended is that it is always better to have someone to remind you of the deadlines, discuss the matters of the course with, and motivate you whenever you get bored and decide to give up. And you surely can do all of that to your classmate. It is a win-win deal.
