Study Strategies

	Study Strategies

Two comprehensive sites with links to study skills and strategies can be found at St. Thomas University and at Virginia Tech. Penn State offers a free web course that introduces students to online learning strategies and resources: World Campus 101. Module 2 is especially applicable to online learning in general.

The Illinois Online Network has good advice on What Makes a Successful Online Student. This site also includes links to numerous online surveys and tools, including a Distance Learning Calculator to determine how much money is saved by taking a college course from home.

You can also take a self-assessment quiz at ONE to see if you would likely be a successful distance learner.

Online Courses

Particularly in online courses, communication is critical. The instructor will not know that you are "present" unless you interact via email or discussion forums. In online courses you should take responsibility for initiating more contact and for being persistent when you don't understand something. The role of the online instructor tends to be that of a guide and sounding board for you as you explore an area of knowledge. Your instructor wants to help you, but won't know of problems you may be experiencing unless you let him or her know.

Marylhurst University offers these useful tips for online learners:

Do take time to review all the help files available.
Do spend some time just navigating your way through the class and making sure you can figure out what the buttons are for.
Do manage your time. You'll find that your time management skills will be critical in an online class. Why? Because it's very easy to spend either far too little time, or far too much time on the class. Set designated blocks of time to work on the class. This will help you stay up with the assignments and with the interaction required in most online classes.
Download or print out pages for reference and review away from the computer.
Set priorities and pay close attention to what your instructor says about priorities.
And ask right away for help if something isn't going right, whether it's a technical issue or something to do with the class environment.

Portland Community College has an extensive Online Learning Orientation website. Topics include Online Learning, Your Computer, Basic Skills, WebCT Skills, Help Resources, and Logging On. While written especially for PCC distance learners, much of the information is helpful to other distance learners as well.