Online Learning Tips » study habits

Find Your Niche and Apply it to Your Studies

J. Mason — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 19:30:42 +0000

We all have something we’re good at. Whether it’s writing long papers without straying from the topic, or arguing a point without losing your position, this is what you would call your niche. Having something you can consider yourself an expert in is something worth bragging about and building upon.

Being really good at one specific thing can be a great confidence booster. The more you work at fine-tuning that skill, the more of an expert you can become. College is a process that in a way is great for sharpening your best skills, and also discovering others you didn’t know you had. So if you’re not that great at writing long papers, but you have to write them for your online classes, explore what else is closely related to writing. Are you good at arguing a point? Do you favor conducting research over putting your thoughts into words? While you may not think these different skills relate to one another, they really do.

If you’re more of a social thinker, utilize your social skills to be a leader in your schools Facebook page. Ask your questions out loud and gain a new peer group in the process. This different way of thinking can give you new skills that will help you get through the more difficult courses, and along the way you may find you’re better at some things than you thought you were.

“I find that a great part of the information I have, was acquired by looking up something and finding something else on the way.” ~ Franklin Pierce Adams

Whatever your specialty may be, make sure you explore it to its full potential.

By: J. Mason

Tip of the Day: Stop Multitasking During Your Study Time

ksmith — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 16:00:19 +0000

For some, mulitasking inhibits them from completing one task entirely. It can also make learning less effective. According to a study in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, participants lost significant amounts of time as they switched between mulitple tasks and lost even more time as the tasks became increasingly complex. This study revealed that if a student switches from one activity to another they will learn more slowly and become less efficient and make more errors.

To avoid the dangers of multitasking, shut down the e-mail, social networking sites and Internet games to focus your attention on the task in front of you and continue to work for a predetermined amount of time.

(source: About.com)

Make Learning New Things Interesting By Pretending You’re a Kid

J. Mason — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 18:57:37 +0000

Don’t let yourself get burned out on the information you’re taking in for class. Yes, some of the content in your textbooks may be dull or hard to read, but giving up won’t help and getting frustrated can bring you to procrastinating. Instead try changing how you approach the reading or assignment.

If you have kids, do you find new and interesting ways to teach them things? If so, it’s not too far off from that concept. Just like your kids, they get bored easily if they don’t understand something, or it doesn’t catch their attention. Put yourself in their shoes and you may have a better chance of taking in the new information faster. Instead of highlighting text in your book, take a minute to grab a few of the key concepts in that chapter. Make a story using them, or create a few doodles that depict the information. This can turn into your study tools later when it comes time to taking a test. Or if you want to try a more adult alternative to keeping information interesting, try adding humor to the text in a way that’s relevant to the material.

Tip of the Day: Use the Buddy System

ksmith — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 14:48:35 +0000

Many online learners don’t realize they are not alone out there! Did you know that over four million people have taken classes online in the past year? Take advantage of this growing trend and find another person who is new to online learning and is taking classes as well.

You can form a study group, figure out technology problems and just provide a virtual shoulder to cry on if your partner is discouraged or frustrated. Your study partner doesn’t even have to been in the same program, class or school. You can simply form a group of folks that creates their own “study hall” each week to share ideas, tips, encouragement and discussions, so that you have more interaction than just the online classroom. Setting aside a couple hours a week in a quiet place is all you need. In fact, someone can volunteer to bring snacks each week and you can rotate.

- Online Learning Tips Staff

Follow us on Twitter

Involve Your Family in Your Learning

ksmith — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 10:50:53 +0000

Don’t just slink away into the back room and come out, red-eyed and silent, after a few hours of intense studying. Let your family know you’re accomplishing something meaningful. If you discover something interesting, bring it up at the dinner table or discuss it while driving your kids to school. Let your spouse tag along on field trips to the art museum or city counsel. Chances are they’ll enjoy being involved in this part of your life and you’ll appreciate the chance to share it.

(source: About.com)

Set Study Appointments for Yourself

ksmith — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 19:00:20 +0000

We cannot articulate this enough fellow students! Create a schedule. Determine what time is best for you to study and work on your assignments. Is it every Wednesday while your partner is out for poker night? Maybe it’s Saturday mornings when the kids are at soccer practice. By creating a schedule, and setting task reminders, you’re less likely to become overwhelmed juggling school with your other commitments.

A schedule is extremely important since your classes are online. While you can access the classroom any time, by setting a regular schedule, you’re more likely to succeed and remember to dedicate yourself to the commitment of education. A schedule will help you plan ahead, accommodate future appointments and meet your classroom assignment dates ahead of time. If you lack a schedule, you will more easily forget about an assignment or procrastinate until you are overloaded.

- Online Learning Tips Staff

Follow us on Twitter

How to Deal with Distractions

ksmith — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 17:47:51 +0000

Studying is tough enough by itself. Studying over the loud conversation of others or amidst the screams of your children can often be next to impossible. Obviously, the best advice for dealing with distractions while studying is to find a way to be alone in a quiet place. Because this ideal situation is sometime impossible to achieve, you need some tools to help you tune out noise and tune into your studies.

The best way to deal with distractions while studying is to embrace the distraction. Have you ever walked into a room and smelled an offensive odor, only to forget about that odor a few minutes later? Somehow, our senses can get used to many different environments if we let them. As soon as you become annoyed with the music that’s playing in the coffee shop, you won’t be able to concentrate on anything else. If you tell yourself that the music is perfectly lovely, you may be able to forget about it entirely. The same goes with your kids playing in the other room. If you take their squeals in stride, thus embracing the din as the environment you’re stuck with, it’s entirely possible that you’ll forget about the noise after studying for a few minutes.

(source: WorldWideLearn.com)

Each One, Teach One

ksmith — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 02:20:04 +0000

Educators have long noted that one of the best ways to learn something is to teach it to someone else. Remember your seventh-grade presentation on Costa Rica? By teaching to the rest of the class, your teacher hoped you would gain even more from the assignment. You can apply the same principle today by sharing your newly learned skills and knowledge with others.

Start by translating the information into your own words. This process alone helps solidify new knowledge in your brain. Next, find some way to share what you’ve learned. Some ideas include writing a blog post, creating a podcast or participating in a group discussion.

(source: About.com)

Involve Your Family in Your Learning

ksmith — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 00:40:21 +0000

(source: About.com)

Follow us on Twitter

Tip of the Day: Partner Up

ksmith — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 19:00:06 +0000

You can form a study group, figure out technology problems and just provide a virtual shoulder to cry on if your partner is discouraged or frustrated. Your study partner doesn’t even have to been in the same program, class or school. You can simply form a group of folks that creates their own “study hall” each week to share ideas, tips, encouragement and discussions, so that you have more interaction than just the online classroom. Setting asside a couple hours a week in a quiet place is all you need. In fact, someone can volunteer to bring snacks each week and you can rotate.

- Online Learning Tips Staff

Follow us on Twitter