How to study online

Online learning is already part of our daily lives. The possibilities are endless: online video courses, vocational training, distance university studies. However, unlike face-to-face education, we don’t have a person at our side to monitor our learning or to set a path for us to follow. We need to learn how to study online.

The freedom of distance learning can be a double-edged sword if we do not act responsibly. One of the shortcomings of education is the lack of specific subjects that teach us how to study. Many people have not learned « how to learn. » When faced with online learning, they can find themselves a bit lost, not knowing where to start or how to organize themselves.

Today we will analyze some habits, customs, and study techniques that should be part of your daily routine so that you can get the most out of your distance learning.

1. Set daily goals for your study sessions
Set one or more goals for your study sessions. Write them down on a piece of paper or create an Excel sheet or Word document. Don’t be too demanding. It is better to start small and add tasks as you see that you can meet the goals.

Setting a clear goal for each day can help you stay motivated, as the satisfaction of accomplishing a goal is immediate. It should be specific and easy to measure: « Today I will read and learn the first paragraph » or « I will research the task after it and write my essays online to reinforce the obtained knowledge. »

2. Create your own « study center. »
All of us have habits and routines. We know that we have to get up at a particular time to get to university, go to work, or take the kids to school. For these tasks, we don’t have to overthink; we have them integrated into our « operating system. » We assimilate timetables and identify places with actions. And this is fundamental in distance learning.

You must bear in mind that no one will call you to enter a class or stop you from surfing social networks. You must create your own little « study temple, » assign it a timetable and stick to it rigorously. Try to always study in the same place and place all the material you need there.

As far as possible, this place must be separated from other areas that you identify with rest or leisure, such as the sofa or the television.

Once you have created your study center, go to it as if you were coming in from the street, prepare your things, concentrate only on the tasks you have set yourself for the day and keep to the timetable. Having a small study center will help you get organized and improve your academic performance.

3. Create your complete study calendar
This is basic for distance learning. You can use the Google calendar on your mobile, an App for your laptop, a notebook, a sheet of paper – whatever you want, but you must have a study calendar.

What you will achieve with this calendar is to empty your mind of uncertainties and doubts. You need the full capacity of your « hard disk » to assimilate and retain the contents of the subjects. Mark when you have the exam of each subject and what its structure is. Research on the internet, visit forums or join groups in chat rooms or social networks.

This should be the basis on which you build your strategy. If you know how long the exam takes and its structure, you will adapt your studies to these parameters, and you will not waste time working more than necessary.

A basic timetable structure might look something like this:

• Subject title
• Date of the exam (or approximate week), duration of the test, and structure (multiple-choice, 4 essay questions and a text commentary, 10 problems to solve, etc.).
• Level 1: months/units to be completed in each period
• Level 2: weekly timetable: subjects/schedules
• Level 3: daily timetable: tasks to be completed in each subject.

The ability to organize yourself independently is one of the secrets of success in distance learning. If you don’t have a timetable, you will find yourself lost, and you will spend too many hours on one subject and too few on another. When the content starts to pile up, your stress levels will rise, and you may end up collapsing and giving up.

I find the magnetic board works very well, especially those organized in the style of the research films that tie things together by adding photos and newspaper clippings.

It allows you to have an overview of all the training. It leaves space for all levels of the calendar, making notes and reminders of important information.

4. Use the pause button on the playback
Making notes can promote active thinking, improve comprehension and extend your attention span. When you study face-to-face, you often don’t have time to annotate or take notes because of the speed of the tutor’s explanation.

However, when studying online, you will have access to recorded lectures. Be aware that you can replay the video as many times as you need. Use the pause button when you need to; no one is rushing you.

Take notes, look for additional information on the internet, study at your own pace and assimilate the concepts without stress or anxiety. You can use a notebook, your computer’s notepad, or a digital application for your mobile phone to help you synthesize the key points.

5. Participate in forum discussions, ask your questions and help your classmates.
The course discussion forums are an excellent resource for asking questions about subjects, debating topics, sharing resources, and making friends with the same interests as you. You will be able to find like-minded people with whom you can create workgroups to make summaries of the subjects and share them or find psychological support in those moments when it seems that you will never be able to pass and that you are wasting your time with your studies.

According to a study conducted by the online course platform Coursera, students who participate in discussion forums are 37% more likely to complete a course successfully.

By interacting in a forum, you put yourself in the position of both the learner and the tutor. You will learn from your peers and teach what you have learned. Explaining the concepts you have studied to others is one of the best practices for reinforcing your knowledge. Don’t forget to ask the tutors about all your doubts. Don’t be left with any uncertainty. Indeed you can communicate through chats, specific forums, or by e-mail.

6. Do only one thing at a time and concentrate.
Multitasking is less productive than concentrating on one task at a time. Researchers at Stanford University concluded that people, who are regularly bombarded with multiple streams of electronic information, cannot pay attention, remember information, or stick to assigned schedules for each task.

Focus on one goal at a time. You will absorb more information and complete tasks with greater productivity and ease than when you try to do many things at once. Start one task, put social media aside, or the dishwasher and washing machine. Concentrate for 50-55 minutes as if you were in a face-to-face class.

In the end, you can (and should) get up, walk around, and give yourself a few minutes to unwind. But when you get back to work, stick to the schedule. Assimilate this cycle, and your performance will be much better.