Successful Online Learning Techniques
What pitfalls do you see your online students falling into and how do you help them "get out of the pit"?
One of the most common and recurring pitfall I see every session is not prioritizing their education and allowing other things to take precedent over their time. I usually communicate with the student via email when I see this begin to happen and have a discourse about prioritizing and setting time aside for school work and learning. I emphasize that because it is an online course it requires more active involvement on their part to acquire knowledge. I also ask them what are their goals; why get the education? Based on the answer I then ask what will happen if you fail this class or end up on academic probation? Usually is open their eyes to the consequences and helps them to reaffirm their commitment to their education.
Marilu,
Wow - you hit the nail on the head. We have to not only manage our time, but manage our priorities. We need to know our strengths and weaknesses and be able to improve upon them. Thanks for your remarks.
To PROCRASTINATE I believe (from personal experience)can be a major pitfall. Many students enroll online to increase their academic achievement because unfortunatly they are unable to commit to an F2F class attendance due to job and family comitments. Most students will plan on
1 1/2 to 2 hours 2 or 3 times a week. Often on a weeknight a meetung or a school show with their child as a star goes longer than normal. A day at the zoo or beach means no classwork tonight.
For those who have to travel, for their job, business traveler lodgings have inmternet or
wi-fi more often free. With family, community or
social requrements, they still are required to maintain academic standards. I will praise their work and intent to advance themselves academically and in their career but we have stay within a timefame and standards.
Jim Watters
Jim,
You don't know how much time I spend reminding students not to procrastinate. It's like a virus that just keeps getting worse and worse. I do spend time with my students talking about time management and making sure they put due dates, etc. on their calendar. I discuss how long assignments/projects may take, etc. Praising those that do turn in things on time or early is an effective method as well. Nice job. Thanks for your input.
With all of the challenges that our adult students face each day, it is not unusual for them to want to quit. As an Academic Dean and instructor, when I review the reasons for students’ requests for withdrawal, I find that it is often due to the pitfalls that many of them find themselves in. Advising them often leads to a change in their understanding of the “pitfallâ€.
The most common pitfalls for my online students are:
1. Underestimate the amount of time necessary to complete assignments involved in an online course. They leave their assignments to complete on the day it is due thinking that they could finish it in a few minutes. Sadly enough, they find out that the assignments involve more than they planned for. This is when they become frustrated or submit work that is far from quality and have no substance. To help them get out of this pitfall, I explain how much time is necessary for reach assignment and encourage students to start working on their assignments earlier in the week and send to me for review before they submit for grading. In this way, they will be able to get feedback and help with the assignments for a better grade. If they wait to respond at the end of the week, there will not be enough time for any review of their work. This works for me and the students.
2. Overestimate their technology skills. There are times when students come into the classroom thinking they “know the computer†when indeed all they do is send emails and surf the Internet. Sooner or later they find out that using the computer involves much more that emails and surfing the Internet. To help the students do better with this pitfall, I review the technology skills with the students and then assess their skills the first day of class. I address concerns individually as I work with the students.
3. Assume online learning is easy. Many students have the idea that online learning is easy and so they enter the class thinking that they do not have to do much and their learning experience will be a breeze. They do find out soon that although online learning offers flexibility with when and where they complete their work, it could become more demanding than in a traditional classroom setting. To help students overcome this pitfall, I provide them with a calendar of all the due dates for their assignments and send emails as often as it takes to remind them when those assignments are due and offer help as needed. I consistently encourage them letting them know that although online learning is not easy, they can become successful students if they are determine to do well.
The number one reason for my students’ success is the encouragement they receive. More than anything else, this works well.
The WORST one is underestimating the time it's going to take. No matter how many times we say that they need to schedule 20 hours a week in - which equals at least 2 hours a day and more on weekends - they never seem to do it.
Gayle,
You are right. It's hard to get students not to procrastinate and understand the time committment. Thanks!
Edna,
Wow! Love the details and information in your post. Thank so much for your input. You bring up points that we all need to recognize and understand and work toward helping students understand. The time committment is huge for students to understand and they must know their technology skills and not estimate them. ;-) Many students do think online courses are easier and much to their demise, it is not. Keeping those encouraging words, as you have noted, is excellent. Keep up the good work.
Time management is a major pitfall. Life gets busy and the work becomes secondary. They causes them to fall behind and playing catch up can be brutal. I try to remind them on a weekly basis to keep up with the homework and if they hit a snag to reach out to me right away. If we can tackle the issues up front the collateral damage can be minimized.
They also have a hard time providing sound critical thinking in regards to their posts, their discussions. Research is difficult for them so their work is compromised or suspect. I try to share some research and critical thinking tips and reminders on a weekly basis. It seems to help.
There are many pitfalls that online students can fall into. For example, students commonly underestimate the amount of time that they must dedicate to the course for success. Online courses require a higher time investment than face to face courses. Online students also can suffer from lack of communication skills. This can lead to difficulty communicating with instructors and other students effectively. The instructor can assist the students with avoiding the pitfalls by providing information on the expected amount of time that is required for success in the course. The instructor can also provide tips for effective communication to help enhance students communications skills.
Laura,
You are right. It's not just procrastination (although that's a big pitfall), but many others that we need to think about. Thanks for your input.
Nathan,
Right on. Many students don't have good time management skills in their day-to-day lives, let along in an online course. This leads to many tribulations and headaches throughout the course. Your post provides good information for others. Thank you.
Time management and procrastination seem to go hand in hand with each other and seem to be the issue with many online students. I realized that the students have very busy lives, but that is part of the challenge of online learning. Scheduling and working ahead has been a real plus for many of my students and something I suggest to them from the beginning. Some students are just more organized and motivated, but even those students face the vicissitudes and exigencies life hurls at them. I work closely with such students. I do work with students who are continually behind and not doing college level work, but I sometimes suggest they take the class at a time when they are freer of distractions so they can do their best and actually learn from the course. We must help and work with students, but we need to be careful not to establish patterns of enablement that they will attempt to use in the work world. Too much holding of the hand also does students a disservice at the college level.
Edna, your reply is very thorough and well constructed. I can see why you are a dean! I have faced all of these issues, and they seem more prevalent with online learning, unfortunately. I would love to be a student again as I am the kind who does work immediately and enjoys instructor feedback. I know, not the common approach to education, even back in the day! I blame Welcome Back Kotter for instilling in society some of the ideas students have regarding education!
So true, Gayle. I remember no having much of a life while in college. I don't know where society came up with the idea that it can do whatever it wants and just sandwich college in there with the t.v. and the video games and hope for the best. We need to expect adherence to the standards we had to follow.
June & Gayle,
Thanks for continuing the conversation. Communicate your expectations to the students and hold them to your stardards (reasonalble standards of course). ;-)
June,
You are so right. I even take time in my classes to help students with time management, get deadlines put on their calendar, etc. Thanks for your input.
June & Edna,
Thanks for keeping the conversation going in this forum. You bring up very good points. Only a few of us may remember Welcome Back Kotter. ;-) Thanks again.
With my students, I observe a lot of behavior such as, "Online Learning is convenient, easy, and a breeze."
Many students feel that "open book" examinations would make their education more easy and they feel that the time commitment is much less as they do not have to commute and participate in a scheduled class.
However, online courses typically demand more time, more preparation, more emphasis on regular participation, and is much more than just a "cake walk in the park." Planning and execution of their plans is important.
I find it necessary to always communicate up front of my expectations and giving a kind "reality check" to all students so that they know what to expect from the course and the coursework load.
