Before the semester begins, get in touch with your professors to find out a good time of day to make future contact. Do mornings, afternoons or evening work best? Many professors at online universities have other jobs and are not available at certain times throughout the day. Also, inquire about the best method of communication. Is it e-mail (most likely) or are phone calls preferable? Establishing this up front will avoid you feeling neglected if, (or when) your professor doesn’t respond immediately.

(source: eHow.com)

 
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Going to school online requires a different set of supplies to be prepared for class. Instead of a planner you can use an online organizer. No paper required, there are programs for that. And your writing utensils, all you need are your fingers and a keyboard. Even though the work online still isn’t easy, the tools you need for school are much more easy, and most of the time, free to use and attain.

Need something to help you manage your homework? Most online classrooms will organize your grades for each specific class every semester, but you need to check on them in the classroom while you’re logged in. Another way to keep assignments, projects, and papers organized is Gradefix. The name is deceiving, but its true purpose is that of a homework management system. It will allow you to track homework in your classes as well as other tasks. It’s great for procrastinators, but you don’t need to be one to benefit from it. It will let you know when it’s getting late to hand in your work.

If you’re the type to need a tap on the shoulder on responding to discussion board posts, keeping track of notes that may be posted for a class, or an overall class organizer, then you should try CollegeRuled. It allows you to create your class schedule and track your progress through the semester.

Not everything in school is about being organized, but sometimes a good flowchart or diagram helps to keep you at the top of your class. For the classes that require presentations, reports, or if you just want to spice up a discussion post Gliffy allows you to do so. The sites unique interface is useful for students who need to produce flowcharts, process flows, network diagrams, chemical processes, and other technical or non-technical illustrations.

Want to get friendly with classmates, or collaborate for a study session or group project? Online learning doesn’t normally involve face-to-face interaction so for the most part chat programs and emails are used primarily for communication to different parties. Campfire is something that offers traditional web communication, but with upgrades suited to fit an online student. It’s a group communication tool that allows you to share content and graphics. To use you sign up and set up access lists, for your group, then send out invitations to the group by e-mail. You also have the ability to control what each person has permission to see in the private chat room, and the chat history is available to later reference. A great idea for remote study sessions on your next big exam.

Being more productive and keeping the lead in your studies can be easier than you think. Using tools at your fingertips is one simple way to stay organized and keep track of what is going on in your classes. There’s nothing worse than a “surprise” at the end of the semester, tracking your assignments and handing things in when you’re asked to alleviate that unnecessary strain and stress.

- By J. Mason

Successful online students dialogue with their instructor. They learn to ask probing, relevant questions as well as thoughtfully answer questions posed. It helps not to think of it as busy work. Your professor asks questions to cause critical thinking to occur, so that you are able to develop a better understanding of the course materials and resources.

Before the start of the semester, send your professor a brief e-mail to introduce yourself. Don’t pen your life story, keep it short and sweet. Share what you hope to gain from the course and your eventual career and/or life goals prompting you to get your degree. This will help to break the ice as well as cause the professor to make a mental note about you – in a good way. Let’s face it, a professor gets hundreds of e-mails a week. It will help to stand out of the crowd when you’re looking to get one of your questions answered sooner rather than later.

-Online Learning Tips Staff

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One of the unique aspects of online degree education is its focus on interaction and communication to facilitate effective learning. To take full advantage of online classes, you must be an active participant – there’s no sitting in the back, hoping not to be called on. Get in there and engage, discuss and collaborate. Much of the learning that occurs online takes place in the instructor-moderated course discussion boards where students exchange ideas with their peers.

The discussion board acts as a semester long conversation around a topic of interest in the field. A major benefit of online learning is that at the end of the course, a record of the discussion still exists. Students can re-visit ideas and questions that emerged along the way, and even look back at how their own ideas on the course topic evolved over the semester.

Source: AllOnlineSchools