When you study online, you won’t have professors or students you see daily to hold you accountable for completing your work. You may not even have to log on at specific times to view lectures or communicate with your peers. Instead, you will need to manage your time to complete all of the class requirements, including watching all online courses and engaging in all group discussions, by the conclusion of the semester.
When studying online, you may be inclined to postpone. However, leaving studying till the last minute or working on tasks the day before they are due might be disastrous for your online learning experience. To make your education work, you must design a study and homework schedule and strictly adhere to it.
Accountability is entirely your responsibility.
When you meet in person for your college courses, there is already a level of accountability built into the curriculum. Seeing your professors and students regularly can lead to increased accountability for homework, quizzes, and projects. On your walk out the door, your teachers may remind you about a forthcoming paper, or your classmates may debate a research topic while you wait for class to begin.
When you pursue your education online, you lose this built-in accountability. While most online teachers will send reminders, they are easy to miss and may not occur every time you log in for your classes.
How can you hold yourself accountable for completing your work? Using a planner or calendar to note due dates is one practical answer to this problem. Set your due dates for tiny pieces of each project once you’ve logged all of your projects. For example, if you have a paper due at the end of the semester, make yourself a midterm outline and a rough draft between midterm and the end of the semester. Once you’ve set these deadlines for lesser activities on your calendar, make sure you stick to them. Then, even without the daily accountability of the classroom, you will be able to complete everything on time.
Know how to use technology and communicate online.
To achieve online learning, you must be able to use technology successfully. Technology will be used in every part of your education, from lectures to class discussions to project submission. Check that you understand how to save and upload files, access online learning materials, and use basic word processing and spreadsheet tools. If you need more technical training, consider receiving it before enrolling in an online program. It’ll come in handy.
You must also be proficient in internet communication. In the field of online learning, the most frequent types of communication are email and chat rooms. In addition, instructors frequently create forums to connect with students, and students can interact with one another in a safe online setting. Use these formats to ensure that you can communicate coherently with professors and classmates.