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Strategies for students to succeed in online learning

Andrew Bruso

A message to students from Assistant Vice President for Graduate and Extended Learning Shala Mills:

We know what a hard time this is right now. A recent meme on Facebook reminded people that we’re not “working from home.” What ‘s really happening is that we’re “at home, during a crisis, trying to work.” This is true for your faculty, who have had to scramble to move your courses to online formats under challenging circumstances, and it is true for you.

You weren’t expecting to finish your courses online. You may be ill, or you may have friends or family who are ill. You are probably more than a little bit sad about all the experiences that have been disrupted and cancelled as a result of this much-needed “stay at home” measure. You are probably missing friends, faculty, and all your usual support systems on campus. And you may be in a less-than-ideal situation as you try to complete the semester. We get it.

So, we want to offer a few tips to help you find the greatest measure of success as you navigate this online learning experience. We’re attaching this article, “8 Strategies for Getting the Most Out of an Online Class.”  Of course, this article was written before COVID 19 turned our world upside down, but these 8 tips are still valid:

  1. Treat an online course like a “real” course.
  2. Hold yourself accountable.
  3. Practice time management.
  4. Create a regular study space and stay organized.
  5. Eliminate distractions.
  6. Figure out how you learn best.
  7. Actively participate.
  8. Leverage your network.

You can read more details about each of these 8 tips in the article. We know the current crisis makes these 8 things all more challenging, but we urge you to find ways to put these tips into practice as best you can under the circumstances.

We’ll also add one more really important tip: COMMUNICATE with your faculty.  Let them know what’s going on with you, because they can’t help you if they aren’t aware of the challenges you may personally be experiencing during this pandemic.