Online course tips for success

People who've never taken a course online don't really understand how much goes into it.  Online courses are more convenient, but they have the same academic requirements as courses taught in-person.  The convenience of taking a course at home in no way means that it will be easy.

It takes a lot of things to happen and be in place to succeed in an online course. To help you assess where you stand, I've organized what it takes to be successful into three categories:  Personal attributes, Behavioral requirements, and Environmental needs.

Personal attributes

Being persistent is perhaps the biggest key to success in online learning.  Students who succeed are those who are willing to tolerate technical problems, seek help when needed, work daily on their classes, and keep trying when challenges arise.

Taking responsibility means that, as an adult, you're in charge of what you are doing and how you are doing it.  It is also understanding that your success (or failure) is because of you:  Not your professors, not your advisor, not your parents...YOU.  The grades you earn are a reflection of your level of understanding of the material, and is directly connected to how much time you put into it. 

Having discipline entails making a schedule, logging in to your courses and saying to yourself, "I'm going to work on this now."  It also involves having the dedication to actually follow through.  Students who succeed are those who log in and make progress every day.

Required behaviors

Practice time management.  The flexibility of online learning can be a drawback to students who procrastinate, are undisciplined to commit to a study schedule, or don't take responsibility for completing assignments on time. When taking an online class, you may not receive verbal or visual reminders of an assignment’s upcoming due date, so it’s up to you to make sure you’ve allotted enough time to complete the work so you’re not starting an assignment the day before it’s due.

Decide when you will log into each course, and put these on your calendar.  Just as you might attend a face-to-face lecture at a regular time each week, you need to schedule time (and enough of it) on your calendar to study the materials and complete assignments.  Treat those blocks of time as seriously as you would a face-to-face class by sticking to them, letting your friends and family know that you're unavailable during those times, and consistently using your dedicated workspace during those times.

Put all of the due dates for reading assignments, quizzes/exams, papers, etc. on your calendar for the entire semester.  If you can see all of the due dates in one place, it will be much easier to spread out your work and complete tasks in a timely manner.

Create a weekly schedule that you will follow, designating certain hours each week to reading, watching lectures, completing assignments, studying, and participating in discussion boards.  Commit to making your online coursework part of your weekly routine, and set reminders for yourself to complete these tasks.

When working on your assignments, try "time-blocking," allowing yourself a certain amount of time for each task before moving on to the next one, and setting a timer to keep you on track.

Get organized.  As with any course, but especially for an online one, it’s important to stay organized. Organize all of your files in a way that makes sense to you. Knowing exactly where important dates, files, forms, syllabi, books, and assignments live will help keep you on track towards hitting your goals. It’s also wise to keep a copy of anything you submit in case a technology problem requires you to resubmit it—even your discussion forum posts. Also, take good notes while doing your readings or watching online lectures just as you would in any other class.

Actively participate.  Participate in the course's online discussion forum to help you better understand the materials and engage with your fellow classmates.  This might involve commenting on a classmate's paper on a discussion board or posting a question about a project you're working on.  Read what other students and your professor are saying, and if you have a question, ask for clarification.

Make sure you're logging in as often as you can, too.  The flexibility of online learning means that if you have 30 minutes before you plan to have dinner, you could squeeze in a discussion response.  Find pockets of time a couple of times every day to check in on the class discussion threads.

And if you do feel yourself falling behind, SPEAK UP.  Don't wait until an assignment is almost due to ask questions or report issues.  Email your professor and be proactive in asking for help.  It won't make you look dumb.  It will make you look like a student.

Collaborate with your peers.  Online classes may sometimes make you feel like you're learning on your own, but this isn't the case.  Most online courses are built around the concept of collaboration, with professors actively encouraging that students work together to complete assignments and discuss lessons.


Build relationships with other students by introducing yourself and engaging in online discussion boards.  Your classmates can be a valuable resource when preparing for exams or asking for feedback on assignments.  Don't be afraid to turn to them to create a virtual study group.  Chances are good that they will appreciate it just as much as you will.

If you're having trouble holding yourself responsible, pair up with a classmate or friend who will check in with you as an accountability partner.  Let this person know what assignments, readings, exams, etc. you have coming up in the next week, and how you plan to complete them.  This partner will check in with you regularly to see how much progress you've made, and is expected to give you a verbal kick-in-the-pants if you're not where you need to be.

Environmental needs

Create a regular study space.  A lot of students I know have taken advantage of using campus spaces to do homework, research, and study.  They say it works for them because they have everything they need, and busy lives at home don't make it easy to work there.

Now everyone is forced to work from home, and some people are feeling frustrated because they haven't got a place to do coursework.  The first step is to look around your home and find a place to claim as yours.  Some students have found a quiet space in the garage, basement, attic, or laundry room.  Ideally, it should be a space that's away from the hub-bub of your family's activities, and NOT in your bedroom (which could potentially be a source of distraction).

Once you've claimed your study space, make sure everyone in the family understands that when you're in there, you are not available for anything other than studying.  Put up a "Do Not Disturb" sign and enforce it!

Your study space needs a high-speed internet connection, access to power, and freedom from distraction.  You'll keep all of your materials there, too: textbooks, notebooks, study guides...you get the idea.  This space is where you will go at designated times to do coursework.  By completing your work there repeatedly, you'll begin to establish a routine.

Eliminate distractions.  Being disciplined means staying away from anything that could distract you during time in your study space, like social media, texting, or binge-watching something on Netflix.  Put these activities on your schedule at other times.  Ultimately, you will need to find a strategy that works best for you.

Regardless of where you choose to do your work, consider turning off your cell phone to avoid losing focus every time a text message or notification pops up.  Another option for resisting the temptation to check your email or surf the web is to download a website blocker.  Using apps like Cold Turkey and Freedom can eliminate distractions by blocking the apps or websites that tend to compete for your attention, such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Figure out how you learn best.  Once you've established where you'll learn, think about when and how you accomplish your best work.  If you're a morning person, make time to study first thing.  More of a night-owl?  Set aside an hour or two later in the evening to get to work. If you have kids that require your morning and evening attention, carve out study sessions during nap times, after their bedtimes, and even early mornings before they get up.  Recruit your partner or spouse to take over the bedtime routine so you can get an earlier start.  Do whatever you need to get into the zone and down to business.

Not everyone learns the same way, so think about what types of information help you best understand new concepts and use study strategies to support that.  If you're a visual learner, for example, print out transcripts of the video lectures to review.  Learn best by listening?  Make sure to build time into your schedule to play and replay all audio- and video-based course content.

UNDERSTANDING HUMAN BEHAVIOR: Why we hate change

      

Human beings are slugs.  

Yes.  I said it.  

Don't misunderstand me.  I'm not saying we're slimy, nasty, slithering gross things.

I'm referring to how much we hate change.  Any change.  

We are, quite literally, creatures of habit.  We’re slow to adapt to changes outside of our control.  We hesitate and rethink and overthink changes we know we need to make. We bitch and moan when we're forced to do something in a different way. 

We like to know that our days are pretty much laid out like they are on most days.  That when we get in the shower, deliciously warm water will come out.  When we get in the car, it will start.  When we get to work, the building is there, our co-workers are there, our tasks and responsibilities are what we expect them to be. 

Routine makes us feel safe, grounded, content. That all is right with the world.

Then, something or someone comes along and throws a big, honkin' wrench into the works. 

When our routines are challenged, the brain goes on auto-pilot and prepares us for flight, fight or freeze.  We get upset, anxious, worried, angry....all of those don't-feel-so-good emotions.  Our knee-jerk reaction to change is to desperately try to maintain the status-quo, no. matter. what.

For those of you old enough to remember, the catastrophe of 9/11 is a perfect example. Once that first plane hit the World Trade Center, no one felt safe. No one knew what the hell was going on. When we saw the plane wreckage in a field in Pennsylvania, no one could tell us FOR CERTAIN that another plane wouldn't crash in our neighborhoods. We put plastic on our windows in case of chemical terrorism.  We stayed home because that’s where we felt safest.  The whole world was changing, and we had no idea what the result would be like. 

Eventually, though, the ones responsible for destroying our sense of safety were identified and plans were put in place to remove any future threat.  People began to feel a little safer, communities banded together to rebuild a semblance of normalcy, and we got through.  But it took time.

COVID-19 is a different kind of terrorist.  We can't point at it and say "there's the source...let's go after it."  We don't really know who is carrying it.  We don't know whether we've been in contact with someone who's carrying it.  We're being asked to stay away from each other and try to keep some normalcy within the confines of our homes.  And no one REALLY knows how long this is going to last.

These changes no doubt have already caused a lot of upset, anxiety, anger...you name it.  The slugs in us HATE this.  We yearn to have things go back to "normal."

So here's the message:  Change isn't always a bad thing.  This new way of doing things during and after COVID could actually turn out to be...okay.  Maybe better than okay.  

David Bowie: eBay

Think about another time when something outside your control (like a relationship ending or getting fired from a job) forced you to change.  The change in your life eventually became the "new normal," and in hindsight, it probably turned out for the better.

It will be that way for us again, too.  We need to, in the words of David Bowie, turn and face the strain:  accept the changes necessary, ride out the uncertainties and scarcities, and make the best of what we're going through.  

We can do this.  I'm certain of it.  

Stuck at home and going stir-crazy?

I started working from home yesterday, and aside from tackling some IT issues, this should work out just fine.  Keeping connected to co-workers by texts and web-conferencing is how we're trying to maintain some kind of semblance of a usual workday.

Evenings and weekends, however, haven't been going as well.   My typical wellspring of patience is consistently tested because all of the stress-busting activities I typically tap into have been temporarily taken away.  No visits with family and friends, no going to the movies, no dining out.  Ugh.

Since our lives have been turned upside-down by the restrictions imposed by COVID-19, difficult days are becoming the norm when you're stuck at home.

Most people are struggling to figure out how to keep themselves from going bat-s#!t crazy.  Here's a less-than-comprehensive list of what we could do to pass the time:

Stay socially connected while maintaining physical distance
GoogleDuo has become my lifeline to family.  It's a good-enough-for-now solution to check in with my kids and grandkids.  Phone calls and texts are okay, but the distancing seems a little less so when I can see them and I know they can see me.

Sending a card by snail-mail to an elderly family member can make their day brighter and less isolated.  

Making a video of yourself reading a book could let the little ones in your life know that you care.

Volunteer to make bag lunches for school kids in your district.  Call the superintendent's office to see how you can sign up.

Tackle home projects that need attention
I cleaned out our junk drawer on Sunday.  (It blows my mind how much crap we tried to stuff in there.) Now the drawer looks like something you'd see on Pinterest, and I can't stop opening it up to marvel at it's beauty.

What tasks have you been putting off because you didn't have time?  Well, now you have more time, so get crackin'.  Start small (like a junk drawer or putting winter gloves and hats in a tote to be stored).  If you have kids, get them involved.  It's so satisfying to improve the environment we're forced to spend more time in, and the improvements make being at home so much more pleasant.  Plus, staying busy makes the day fly by.

Rearrange furniture
This is something I definitely plan to do.  The furniture in my living room has been in the same positions for the past year, and I wouldn't be surprised if there's a whole colony of dust-bunnies that have taken up residence under the couch.  

If you can't physically move your sofa or other large items, put some seasonal knick-knacks out or bring something in from another room, like a framed picture from the bedroom into the dining room. Time to change up your environment and make it feel new and different.

Ignite your creative juju
I admit it.  I have a lot of craft supplies. ("Hi, I'm Robyn.  I'm a craftaholic.") I went through my stash and pulled out some never-used colored pencils and a brand-new coloring book.  My plan is to take some time after dinner each night and make one of those pages pretty.  I also have some blank canvases that I want to paint for gifts.

You don't need a lot of markers, paints, crayons, etc. to get those creative juices flowing.  Do a search on Joann.com or Pinterest to find a project that you can make with supplies you already have at home.  Dust off that musical instrument that you've been meaning to get back to.  There's research that has shown that doing something artistic or creative is a natural stress-reducer.

Get outside
Even though we need to maintain physical distance from other people, we can still enjoy the outdoors.  State parks in New York have temporarily waived entrance fees to encourage folks to go and find the peace that being in nature can bring.

If you have a yard where you live, you KNOW there's stuff to be done.  Raking, mowing, weeding, planting...these are all excellent stress-busters and getting our hands dirty is good for the soul, too.  

What if you don't have a yard?  Go for a walk.  Start training for your next (or first!) 5K.  Ride your bike.  Toss a football with your kid.  Sit on a bench (maintaining physical distancing standards) and just enjoy breathing in fresh air.

EXPERT ADVICE: Managing Stress from the COVID-19 Crisis

Let’s start with the assumption that everyone capable of understanding current events is living in a state somewhere between “kind of stressed” and “extremely anxious.” That’s natural. Infectious disease outbreaks are one of the most distressing forms of disaster to deal with psychologically because of the uncertainty they cause. 

With more typical disasters we know for sure whether we’ve been personally impacted, and while the physical and emotional recovery processes can be lengthy and difficult, at least we can be confident that the worst is over once the event ends. Disease outbreaks don’t have that kind of clear time boundary. This leaves us in an ongoing state of feeling at risk, which is not the kind of acute stressor our “fight or flight” system evolved to deal with effectively. Staying braced for a threat over an extended period of time takes a real toll on our bodies and minds, so it’s essential to recognize and address our stress to prevent it from becoming overwhelming. 

It’s also, for lack of a better term, just plain creepy to think that we may have been exposed to something that will make us sick in the future. And, in the case of the COVID-19 outbreak where many infected people have minimal symptoms but may still be capable of passing the disease on to others, it’s also disturbing to think that our own actions may be putting other people at risk if we go to work, move around the community, check on elderly relatives, and so on. It’s another type of outbreak-related uncertainty: We may not feel sick or have any reason to believe we’re a threat to others, but we still question our own potential role in spreading the disease, adding a layer of guilt to simple actions like going to the grocery store. 

So what can we do to manage these multiple sources of uncertainty and stress? Plenty, starting with recognizing that it makes sense to feel anxious in these circumstances. There’s nothing weak or irrational about these feelings, and accepting that fact is the first step towards handling them.

Name It and Tame It 

It may be helpful to pause for a moment and reflect on what you’re actually concerned about: Are you worried that you’ll get sick yourself, or that a family member will? Or that you’ll be unable to keep working and earning money? Or that there will never again be an adequate supply of toilet paper in your local market? It’s likely that you’re worried about a combination of potential issues of varying levels of seriousness, and it’s easy for those concerns to get mashed up together into a single swirling cloud of anxiety and dread that feels impossible to handle. In fact, there’s a lot you can do to take control of your stress. 

Start by breaking that cloud down into manageable parts by consciously thinking through these questions: 

• Exactly what is worrying you right now? Write down a list to get your thoughts out of your head and to give them some structure. 

• How likely it is that each of those threats really will impact you? You may realize that some worries are actually so unlikely that you can cross them off your list entirely, freeing up brain space to address the concerns you do need to take seriously. 

Then break that list down further into categories of what you can control (at least partially) and what you can’t, and make plans for how you’ll deal with both types of concerns. 

Change What You Can 

Once you’ve identified your primary sources of stress, tackle the things you actually can alter. You may realize that you can reduce the impact of concerns in this category by implementing problem-focused coping strategies. That may involve a kind of second-level approach: You can’t control whether your kids are sent home from school for an extended period, for example, but you can control whether you have a plan to deal with childcare if that occurs. 

So make that plan, and then make a backup plan for your original plan – and let it be okay if those plans are not perfect, because they won’t be. But in times of stress or rapid change it’s a lot easier to activate a pre-existing strategy than to develop one on the fly, so it’s worth some mental preparation to really think through potential demands in advance so you’re not caught unprepared when they suddenly arise. You’ll probably find that simply having those plans in place gives you sense of control that reduces some anxiety about these particular concerns.

Accept What You Can’t Change 

It’s equally important to recognize that some things are simply out of our control during this time, whether we like it or not. For issues you can’t really control or change, think about using emotion-focused coping strategies that help you manage your feelings. For example, you may not be able to talk yourself out of worrying about the health of your elderly parents, but you can consider strategies for how you’ll handle these unavoidable emotions and prevent them from overwhelming you. 

We all know the lists of healthy coping methods like mindfulness, exercise, journaling, and so on. These are great ways of maintaining calm if they work for you, but being reminded to follow these practices just adds more stress for some people. Maybe you prefer to manage your emotions by taking a brief break from your worries in the form of a book, game, or TV show, or you like to stress bake, or scream into a pillow. It really doesn’t matter what you do so long as you actively do something that helps you both feel and function better. 

Choose Your News Carefully 

It’s important to stay informed about what’s going on, but that should not be your main focus in life throughout the outbreak. There is a lot of misinformation and conflicting news circulating, which just compounds confusion and stress for many people. Part of that is due to the rapidly evolving situation which legitimate news outlets are struggling to keep up with, but part results from people spreading rumors, or using misinformation to try to sell products or advance political agendas. 

For accurate scientific guidance, you can’t do better than the Centers for Disease Control website: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/ That’s the most reliable source for current information about the disease itself as well as resources for dealing with its effects. To keep up with local impacts, choose a single news source you’ve found to be reputable in the past, and set yourself a schedule for when you’ll check for updates. Unless you’re actually in charge of the response, you probably don’t need to be monitoring the news 24/7, and you may find it reduces your stress considerably to limit your exposure to a few intentional news checks a day, rather than keeping the outbreak top of mind by constantly monitoring the latest information. 

The same goes for social media: It can be a great way to stay connected with positive sources of social support, but Facebook and the like are not good places to get reputable information. These sites may expose you to a lot of dubious theories and rumors, sowing confusion and stress, so consider limiting your social media use and being selective in what you expose yourself to in all media. 

Don’t Judge Yourself, or Others 

This may sound obvious but it’s worth remembering: People will react to this outbreak with different degrees of concern based on factors like their individual situation (for example, do they have kids or other dependents to worry about; does their work expose them to potentially sick people; were they already dealing with financial stress) and their personal characteristics (for example, do they experience anxiety or depression even under more typical life conditions). It’s easy to slip into criticizing others across both ends of the reactivity spectrum (i.e., “why are you freaking out?” vs. “why aren’t you freaking out?”). That’s especially problematic if family members, especially partners, have different reaction styles and coping methods, causing friction and limiting their ability to support each other during these trying times. Keep in mind that personal coping styles vary and you can’t change other people, but you can make an effort to tolerate different reactions.

Stay Connected! 

One of the things we know from research is that social support is very important to resilience and recovery during times of stress. The more isolated and alone we feel, the more likely it is that our mental health will be negatively affected. This is likely to be particularly true during this time of self-quarantining, isolation, and social distancing. So, do what you can do to stay connected to your social support network of family, friends, and colleagues. Even staying in regular contact with a single person can be beneficial. Obviously we may need to connect in different ways than we’re used to doing, but it’s important to stay connected nevertheless. You don’t have to spend time talking about the stress of the current situation (although that can be helpful for people who feel the need to talk about it), but just be intentional about reaching out and making time to be together, in person or virtually

To Summarize: 

1) Do what you can to take charge of your anxiety by breaking your concerns down into manageable chunks. 

2) Change what you can, and work on strategies for accepting and coping with what you can’t. 

3) Limit your media exposure so you’re not dwelling on the situation. 

4) Stay connected, through whatever means are available, to the people that are important to you. 

5) Above all, remember what stress management strategies work for you, and actually use them regularly to get through this challenging outbreak.

Source: Institute for Disaster Mental Health at SUNY New Paltz