Adult learners who are considering an online degree and who have already earned some college credits during the course of their careers can greatly decrease the time and money spent it takes to earn an online degree by transferring credits from another school. Most higher learning organizations, including online schools, allow the transferring of credits toward a degree.

Even if you don’t have any previous college experience, it’s still possible to earn credits before you enroll! Many online schools, especially those geared toward adults, give credit for knowledge and skills gained through life experience and technical institutes. Although the experience sought typically comes through paid employment, it may also be acquired through volunteer work, as well as company or military training courses. Each online school’s transfer credit requirements and process vary, so it’s important that you verify before making a final decision on a school.

- Online Learning Tips Staff

For students complaining of writer’s block for an assignment, something as simple as taking a walk outside can bring around a whole new perspective on what you’ve been working on.

We recently came across an interesting case study, conducted by psychology students at the University of Chicago, to determine the most effective study break. Student volunteers were given sequences of 3 to 9 numeric digits and asked to repeat them in reverse. If the experimenter said “6-1-9″ then the student would respond “9-1-6″. After 14 tests like this, the students were told to take an hour-long walk through an arboretum, or the downtown area.

When the students returned from the break, the test was repeated. It turned out that the walk through nature improved the subjects’ cognitive thinking skills and they performed much better on the digit-span and visual attention tasks.

This small study took an old and simple concept and gave it new life. Be it taking a walk through a nearby park, or sitting out by a tree in the yard, being closer to nature is a great way to unwind and re-energize your thoughts. If you’re not the woodsy type, even viewing an image of an outdoor landscape on your computer or on a wall in a coffee shop can help get your mind in the right place.

Read more about this study >

Every year, thousands of people are lured into paying costly tuition for counterfeit schools that don’t have any real authority to grant degrees. Before you take the plunge and choose a school, take the time to do some thorough research.

• Double check with the Department of Education’s database to make sure the school has been upfront about its accreditation.
• Check out credible, online education message boards and forums. While not the most reliable source of information, they may give you an idea of how people view the school you’re interested in. In your search, if you’re finding little information or only bad things, beware.
• Find out the word on the street. Ask friend and/or relatives if they have heard of the school. Also, try to find other students who may have taken classes or graduated from the school.

- Online Learning Tips Staff

Typically the warning signs of failure in school are clear-cut. Your grades are C’s or lower, constantly asking for extensions, getting incompletes on assignments, or you simply don’t understand anything going on in the class. What’s worse is that some people don’t realize they’re failing until the final grade is posted. Waiting until the last minute to rectify your standing in the class is not a good idea. Be proactive about classwork, and ask for help before the final test.

Still not sure where you stand in school. The reasons could be staring you in the face, and you haven’t picked up on them yet:

1. You have a C or D average:This means you’re not mastering the content, but possibly getting by without fulling understanding the material. This is particuarly dangerous with an online class, since you don’t meet face to face with the professor to discuss your grade and how to improve it. Don’t be your own worst enemy, ask the teacher what you need to work on before the class ends.
2. Constantly needing extensions or getting incompletes: If you depend on these modes of grading as an educational crutch as opposed to something circumstantial, then it might be time to evaluate if you have time for school. This may mean you can’t keep up with the page of college. Good time management skills can help here.
3. You spend too much time doing reading or homework: Typically professors assign work with time constraints in mind. Meaning they take into the account that a student may be in more than one class and possibly working. The assignments are greated towards being done in a manageable period of time. If you find you spend all your time on the work then you may instead have an issue with comprehending the course material. *This could be relative, some teachers don’t take these factors into account in relation to time span of the class and outside factors.
4. Too much time on social networks: Checking status updates, fan pages, tweets, or new videos is a good way to pass a half hour to maybe an hour a day, but if you find you can’t tear yourself away long enough to get your work done then you need to break your bad habit.
5. You hate where you are: If you really dread school every week, and just find yourself putting things off in order to not deal with them, then you need to rethink what you’re doing. Maybe school isn’t the place for you to be, or maybe try a new program. If you’re unhappy it will show in your grades, attitudes towards assignments, and length of time it takes to get your degree. Try contacting your student advisor if you’re unhappy and want a change, they’re there to help you.