Most of the rules for general classroom participation are the same in an online course. Keep the following tips in mind and you’ll  be well on your way to a positive online learning experience.

1. Be yourself. Do not attempt to be overly formal, overly persuasive, or overly eager to belong.
2. Share. Sharing requires both expressing your own feelings and experiences, but also reading and appreciating the feelings and experiences of others.
3. Be willing to accept the views of others, even if they have quite different backgrounds or positions, are not as knowledgeable or capable of expressing themselves in writing, or seem to break some of the rules of netiquette.
4. Don’t be afraid to express your feelings or to ask for help if you are upset by or confused about a topic.
5. One experienced online community member listed being “intellectually honest” as the most important piece of advice she would give to participants in an online community. This means you should be able to look at issues from other perspectives, to make decisions based on facts and logic rather than emotion, and to constantly consider and reconsider your position and be willing to change your mind when necessary.

 - Online Learning Tips Staff

For a good majority of students, english and writing majors excluded, writing is a chore. When it comes to being an online student writing can turn into a full-time job, especially considering it’s the main way virtual students communicate. The reason most folks dislike writing is because they think they aren’t good at it, not because they can’t do it.

One way to get your confidence back is by working with your professor on some extra writing assignments. For these, don’t worry about the length – go as long or short as you link. Even a well-thought discussion post in the classroom, or on a blog may help get your confidence in the right place.

There are tons of way to work your writing muscle. Below are just a few you can use to help improve.

1. Free Association Writing —Free writing is a timed activity that is writing as much aspossible in a two- to 10-minute time span. You are encouraged to write down anything. You may get a few good ideas or you may get junk, but at least you are writing and letting your ideas come out freely without anyone judging them as right or wrong. Free writing is used frequently by writers who have a “block” where they cannot think of what to write.
2. The Art of Reading— Good readers make good writers. Take time to read a good book, whether it’s one your teacher suggests, a book version of your favorite film, or a book written by your favorite author. Reading enables you to develop your vocabulary and helps to strengthen your stylistic ability to write creatively.
   
3. Journal Writing — Journaling is a form of self-expression that millions take advantage of on a daily basis. Journaling is easy to do and creative as well. What you write could explain anything from what you did that day, to how those events made you feel, to ideas for your future, to venting frustrations about life. In some cases, people rely on journals to help them remember what they did a week ago and even to remember what the state of the world was at the time of the writing. It’s up to you whether you share the ideas or feelings you write down with anyone else.

-Online Learning Tips Staff

Google alerts are great for keeping on top of news in your specific areas of interest. These alerts are similar to an RSS feed, but it chooses the stories and posts by the search terms you specify for content you want to be alerted to.  To set these up go to this page, http://www.google.com/alerts, type in the search terms you want to keep track of and the rest of the required information and then you’ll be good to go.

This feature can be very useful for research in classes. If you have a class you need to provide current topics for discussion posts, these alerts can provide great nuggests of information that can inspire you for that week or day in class. You never know what stories you may find this way, and they get sent directly to your inbox, no searching required.

- Online Learning Tips Staff

You can boost the positive and minimize the negative when you know your own learning strengths, weaknesses and habits. Pick an online learning format and study game plan that is best suited for you. If you know you tend to procrastinate, make sure you establish a solid study routine that will keep you on task. If you’re inclined towards written communication and verbal exchange, the methods of most online education classes will already be well matched to your learning style.

It also may be helpful to take an interactive learning assessment quiz for insight in to how your brain prefers to gather and process experiences and information. By understanding your own personal styles, you can adapt the learning process and techniques you use for the online environment.

(source: AllOnlineSchools.com)