Online courses have so many benefits. They allow you to study at your own convenience, they eliminate commute time and expenses, and they can actually be cheaper compared to classroom courses. However, unlike in a traditional classroom where you have lecturers or instructors guiding you every day, and course mates to motivate you, for online courses, most of the time you will be on your own. You have to make the decisions that will help you to succeed. This article highlights some tips that can be helpful when taking an online course.
Choose Your Course Wisely
Before you sign up for an online course, ask yourself how the course will be of help to you. There are a wide variety of online courses developed for UK professionals. You can take a short course to grow your leadership or ecommerce skills, a degree to kick-start your career, or postgraduate education to gain a promotion. You can find online courses from UK-based providers on findcourses.co.uk.
To ensure you pick the right course, start by setting your goals. Set short-term and long-term goals for your career. Identifying your weaknesses can also give you direction when it comes to picking the right course. If you are studying a degree in preparation for your career, ensure you know what the profession entails before making a decision.
Have a Financial Plan
Education will cost money, and thus you need to ensure that you have a financial plan before you start. If you don’t plan before enrolling, you may end up dropping out somewhere along the way or straining in other areas to stay in school.
Register for Courses from a Recognised or Listed and Reputable Provider
One of the ways to guarantee that you will get quality education is to register for courses offered by institutions that are recognised or listed or have some form of endorsement from the body that controls quality in the specific industry. Otherwise you may end up getting low quality education and a certificate that will not be recognised when you are applying for a job.
Get Organised
Once you register for an online course, get organised to avoid time wastage and missed deadlines. Create a schedule and a reading plan that will allow you to go through your notes, complete your assignments, and read for your exams on time. For short courses, you may only require setting aside a few hours per week, but for the long courses you may need dedicated time each day.
Know Your Lecturer
Before you get started with the course material, get to know your lecturer or instructor in detail. Learn about their qualifications and experience and how you can contact them. If you can, introduce yourself and let them know that you are happy to be in their class. Instructors can be great mentors and you will need them a lot along the way when the coursework gets tough. Therefore, make the point of knowing yours early and establish a good relationship with them.
Know the Requirements
Will you be required to install some software or apps on your phone or computer? If yes, download them early enough and learn how they work before the course begins. Since most learning will be done online, you will have to be a little tech savvy. Don’t wait until the last minute to start figuring out how things work and how to manoeuvre the website.
Have a Study Area
Whether it’s the coffee shop, a library or a home study room, you need a quiet space where you can sit down and focus. Have a space that will work as your classroom. When you have a specific study area, you can do more as opposed to when you have to look for a new study space every time you need to go through your notes. If you have younger kids, you may have to organise childcare, or schedule your study time when they are in school or asleep so that they don’t invade your reading space.
Get Rid of Distractions
When it is time to study, get rid of every distraction that can steal your attention. If your plan shows you should be studying for two hours, but you end up reading for only one and spending the other on social media, consider logging off social media when it is time to study. Also, consider having your phone on silent and turning off the music. However, if you find music soothing, you can have it on low volume as you study. For your family, friends and roommates, let them know when you are studying so that they don’t cause any distractions for you. Also, note that some things such as hunger, illness and stress can be distractions too. It will be hard to concentrate when you are hungry or unwell. Therefore, take good care of yourself by eating right, exercising and avoiding stress.
Make Good Use of Resources Provided by Your Course Provider
Every course provider will give you a couple of resources to help out with your studies. This can be in form of study notes, live chat support, revision questions and blogs among others. Check the resources your course provider has to offer and make use of them maximally.
Stay Up to Date
Don’t be that person who notices that the lecturer issued an assignment when it’s almost due. Keep checking for notes and assignment updates regularly. Pay keen attention to the deadlines and include them in your calendar to avoid submitting your work late.
Join Discussion or Study Groups
Just because you are studying online, doesn’t mean that you can’t be in discussion groups with other students. Online students too form groups both online and offline. Find out if there is one for the class you are taking and join and, if there are none, you can mobilise your classmates to start one. Through discussion groups, you can understand concepts better and improve your grades.
Talk to Your Employer
If you are employed, talk to your employer before you sign up for a course, especially if you will need some time off to study or to take exams. When you don’t inform your employer early enough, you could end up not getting time off when you need it. The employer needs good notice so that they can plan for your absence early enough. Letting you go on short notice can affect the company’s operations. Therefore, talk to your employer as soon as you make the decision to sign up for a course. Otherwise, you may sign up, do your lessons and then miss out on the exams simply because you didn’t tell the employer to plan for your absence.
Finally, as you work hard to complete your course with good grades, remember not to overdo things. Take time off from your studies to rest when you feel tired and overwhelmed. Also, don’t forget to have a good study/life balance. Your coursework should be a priority, and you shouldn’t hang out with friends during your study time, but you should set aside time for your friends and family. Focusing on books only can cause burnout and make you lose sight of other things that are important in life. It can also affect your relationships with people who are close to you and thus you need to ensure you maintain a good balance at all times.