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Study Skills for Academic Success

Best Practices for Online Learning

  • Treat online work like a job or a face-to-face class by scheduling time to work on it each day.
  • Have a dedicated study space that is quiet, organized, distraction-free, and available for use at any time.
  • Create a study plan to make the course more productive and less stressful.
  • Communicate with your teacher on a weekly basis via email or by phone, and ask questions.
  • Stay organized and save files for the course in the same folder on a cloud service with a recognizable name.
  • Use a calendar to schedule reminders for assignment due dates.
  • Participate actively! Complete your assignments on time, with your best work.
  • Check your campus email every day.
  • Make a copy of your answers for EVERYTHING you turn in except for online tests and quizzes.
  • Download any documents or files that you want to have access to offline.

Build a Study Plan for Online Learning

  • Plan ahead. 
    Never wait until the day before an assignment due date to start working on it. Use time management skills to lessen stress.
  • Have an effective calendar system. 
    Online learning needs structure; create a study calendar to help remember all important dates.
  • Create to-do lists. 
    At the start of each week, make a to-do list of the tasks you need to complete by the end of the week.
  • Set time limits. 
    Using the Pomodoro technique in time management to enhance your motivation and focus.
  • Stay on schedule. 
    Finally, stick to your study plan. Procrastination is the worst enemy of online learners. If you are having difficulties submitting your assignments on time, contact your instructor.

Note Taking for Online Classes

Online students receive much of their course's information through reading and posts, so note-taking skills become invaluable in online learning. Below find some great resources into better note-taking practices.

Online Learning in Science, Technology, Engineering & Math Courses

Other Online Learning Resources

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