Tag Archives: Online Learning

Achieving Success as an Online Student

Today, the internet plays such a significant role in our lives, and even when it comes to education! Here at UIS, several programs offer online courses ranging from undergraduate to numerous graduate programs. Some are even completely online!

The internet helps bring the classroom to a student’s home, making possibilities endless. Individuals with pressing outside obligations can find a perfect fit in an online curriculum. However, taking online courses is a unique experience, one requiring individuals to foster a learning environment that allows them to really absorb and put skills learned from the course into practice. If you are taking an online course, check out a few of our favorite tips for being successful as an online student!

  • Be comfortable with the internet!  The largest part of online learning? The internet! It’s essential that users are very well acquainted with using the web and navigating their course content. Get familiar with working with documents, social media tools that will be used in class, and anything that is necessary to know to succeed in your course!
  • Be organized! Often times, learning online is very independent—it’s up to you to keep track of readings, projects, due dates, etc. Keep a syllabus, calendar, and instructor contact information handy in case you have any questions!
  • Like we mentioned above, to an extent, online learning is a more independent learning environment. Stay on task, and don’t let all readings and other class activities pile up.
  • Keep up with the discussion board! The discussion board is often an integral part of online courses, so it’s essential that you engage in classroom discussions through this form.

If you experience any difficulties acclimating yourself to the online learning environment, contact us and we can help you learn how to better navigate!

Communication is the key to success!

We have all heard this at some point in almost any situation, but in college, good communication between educators and students really is essential. Not meeting face to face on a daily basis can be a disadvantage when it comes to students keeping up with assignments and current issues related to the class, and utilizing resources.

Students are always online. Most of them actually have the web at their fingertips at any given point of the day. For this reason, it is clear that the internet is one of the best forms of communication with college students. There are many ways to utilize the technology that is everywhere to easily communicate with your students and enrich their educational experience in your course. Here are a few examples of ways to keep your students updated on announcements, assignments, and current issues that you find relevant to class.

Blog!
Blogging is something we have all heard about, but most of us remain wary about it. I, myself, was one of those people until I started doing it, and realized it’s fun!

Blogging is a great way to establish consistent communication with your students. Post updates about current issues that are relevant to what is being discussed in class, and use incentives for your students to post back. It’s a great way for them to be involved in the class without actually being in class. Try Google’s free Blogger, or a blog meant to be used for educational purposes, like Edublog.

Wikis

Wikis are another great way to promote student involvement outside of the classroom. A wiki is basically a website where visitors can actually participate in creating and editing information. There are a variety of ways you, as educators, can incorporate this into your class; post and brainstorm different topics, give students a place to collaborate and share assignments and materials, assign each student a small part of a large, ongoing project, or create a student-published online resource center. Try the wiki feature in eDocs, Wikispaces or Wetpaint.

Twitter

Twitter may seem as though it has no purpose in a college classroom, but professors utilizing Twitter often have a good following by their students. Educators are able to share events as soon as they occur. Again, this is a great way to establish and maintain a connection outside of the classroom and keep students updated on issues relevant to class!

You will be surprised how much feedback and participation you receive from students when you prove yourself technically savvy and incorporate these tools into your class. I know I appreciate when a teacher of mine actively posts updates on their website or via other easily accessible forms of communication. If you have any questions or need any assistance incorporating these tools into your course, we would be happy to help!