How to Succeed in Online College Classes
Originally published in medium.com
June 8, 2020
With the COVID-19 pandemic, most colleges have changed their in-person classes to virtual. In the foreseeable future, online classes may become the new normal. They differ from face-to-face courses and can be challenging if you don’t know how to approach them.
The good news is that success in online classes is as achievable as in face-to-face classes.
I conducted a survey at my college on students’ experiences in online classes. Among the 361 students who responded, 21% said they were more successful online than in person, and 50% of them said they were as successful as in face-to-face classes.
There are two kinds of online courses, synchronous and asynchronous. Synchronous is when teachers and students are virtually present at the same time, such as through Zoom or Google classroom meetings.
Asynchronous, on the other hand, means students and teachers log into the system and do their work at different times.
In this article, I describe five strategies you can use to succeed in both synchronous and asynchronous classes. These tips come from my research with online teachers and students and my own teaching experiences.
Online Success Tip #1: Log in Regularly and Work Ahead
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Since asynchronous classes don’t have the structure of an in-person class, sometimes it’s easy to forget that you even have a class, especially when your job and family require your attention.
Logging in regularly is the number one recommendation from the students.
One student said, “I log in religiously every day, sometimes multiple times a day. I constantly check due dates to see what is coming up. This allows me to plan ahead of time and start certain assignments early if I know I am going to be really busy the week it is due.”
Another student said that “ I learned this lesson the hard way. I had one quiz that I didn’t see hiding in my due assignments for my law class. I lost my head when I got marked down from 100% to 89% over one missed assignment.”
After you log in, work ahead. Spend time with the lectures and assignments and put in your best efforts.
If you start early, you will have the time to ask questions. One student said she would often send a draft of her essay to her instructors early in the week and get their feedback before submitting the final draft, which was usually due over the weekend. This had allowed her to consistently improve the quality of her essays.
Online Success Tip #2: Connect with Your Professors
In the online modality, unless your professors conduct synchronous meetings, you don’t see them every time you log in.This can be difficult if you are used to the face-to-face format, where you can simply raise your hand and get immediate answers to your questions.
In asynchronous classes, you may feel your professor is hard to reach. Students I interviewed often listed this as a top challenge.
I urge you to ask your instructors if you have questions. They welcome questions and want to know what might be confusing to the students. Your reaching out may help them realize they need to explain some concepts to the whole class in different ways. Therefore, the whole class may benefit from your questions.
Even if you feel you are the only one who does not understand how to do an assignment, it is still better to ask questions so you can complete the assignments correctly.
You can save yourself a lot of time and stress if you reach out for help.
A challenge with messaging is that instant replies may not always be possible. But most professors respond within 24 to 48 hours. If days pass without receiving an answer, feel free to resend the question. Occasionally, a message may get lost.
An additional benefit of asking questions is relationship building. One student put it this way: “Asking questions clears things up for you, and it helps your professor get to know you as a student, which is helpful as the semester progresses.” Research shows that students’ relationships with their teachers play a critical role in their college success.
The more you feel connected with your teachers, the more likely you will engage with the course and feel confident about your abilities. Therefore, reach out to your teachers whenever you need to.
Online Success Tip #3: Manage Time Well
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In almost all the interviews I conducted with faculty and students, time management came up as an important factor. Almost everyone said, “Don’t procrastinate.” It’s tempting to put things off when you are not required to physically attend a class.
How to best avoid procrastination? One strategy is to write down due dates on your calendar.
This helps you remember and provides you with a record for later reference.
Some students like using a whiteboard, “I believe that having a whiteboard is a very smart thing. At the beginning of every week, I log on to my Canvas app on my phone and go under the ‘to-do’ section. I use different colors to write down assignments for different classes and I constantly look up at the board so I can easily manage my time.”
The second strategy is to set aside time for school and put all distractions away, including your phone, iPad, or whatever draws you away from your schoolwork.
Schedule time in your week for each of your online courses, like you would for face-to-face classes. For example, MWF, 10:00–1:00 Psychology, 2:00–4:00 English, and TTH, 9:30–11, Economics.
Remember, for college classes, for each unit you take, schedule three times the number of hours for study. For example, if your Psych 1 class is three units, you need to be prepared to spend nine hours each week on it. Students often do not realize this factor when they register and end up overloading themselves.
Online Success Tip #4: Read the Textbooks and Online Modules
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Most online classes require reading, be it traditional textbooks or open educational resources materials.
Schedule enough time to read. As you do, take notes on important points.
Some professors give study guides. If they do, you can answer the questions on those guides as you go through the pages or after you finish them.
With online classes, there is another reading that you must do — the module content.
Most instructors set up modules that correspond with the textbooks or as thematic units.
Make sure you read the modules, which are similar to the lectures you would attend in face-to-face classrooms. In the modules, you will find the guidance you need to understand the course materials, the same way an instructor would guide you in the classroom.
Modules provide context for reading, explain the steps you need to follow in solving problems, and make connections between the content in the books to real life. Instructors may also provide videos and links to additional resources.
In short, the modules are the treasure troves of your course. Take advantage of them. You will find your understanding of the materials much improved, and the assignments become easier if you review and engage with the modules.
One student said that sometimes she had trouble understanding the textbook, but the videos the professor put in the modules helped her. “I would read, reread, and reread the book and not get it. But then I watched the videos and listened to my teacher. And boom, it just clicked.” Her example shows how approaching the same material in different ways can assist learners.
Another student told me, “I would go to the library to put in at least four to seven hours of reading the textbook and studying the vocabulary. Whenever I finish a chapter, I read the modules and do the study questions from the modules, and I’m good to go.” By reading the textbook and following the modules, this student did well in his courses.
Online Success Tip #5: Take Advantage of Discussions and Discussion Forums
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If you ask people about discussions in asynchronous online classes, you will likely come across two extremes — some love them, some hate them.
Those who love them feel this is the place where they get to read other points of views and expand their horizons.
Those who hate them dislike the social aspect, especially because professors often ask them to respond to other students. Some will say, “I signed up for online classes because I don’t like interactions, why do I have to do discussions?”
My opinion is that online discussions offer multiple benefits. Take advantage of them.
Besides learning from other people’s ideas, you will master course materials better because instructors often ask you to summarize or respond to readings.
In addition, discussions assist you in community building.
With face-to-face classes, students form friendships when they sit together and work in groups. Online classes often don’t offer those kinds of opportunities. However, discussions or forums allow you to see who your classmates are, get to know them, and build camaraderie.
As one student said, “Discussions give me the classroom feel. I learned how to agree and respectfully disagree. I learned a lot about how people think. You also have more time to think about your ideas because unlike in-person classes where you have to think on your feet, online discussions are through writing. You have time to think before you write and time to revise before you post.”
Discussion forums are places for students to ask questions and seek help from peers. When you encounter problems, besides contacting your professor, you can post questions in the discussion forum, so your classmates can help as well.
One student I interviewed was having trouble with his math class. He posted a note in the discussion forum, “Does anyone want to form a study group to prepare for the next exam?”
He quickly got several responses. They were able to study together — through Google Hangouts and texts — not only for that exam but throughout the semester. He said the study group helped him tremendously.
Moving Forward
Online classes offer the flexibility to study and work whenever you like. In the case of the current pandemic, it allows you to attend school in the safety of your home. But they come with their own challenges. The above methods will assist you in becoming more successful in these classes.
Are you taking online classes? What are your experiences? I would love to hear from you.