Online courses have changed the landscape of education across the country. Everyone now has access to the training they need to launch a new career or further the one they have.
If you’ve never taken an online class, it might help to put together a strategy that’ll help you succeed. In some ways, the prep you need for an online course is similar to the prep you’d need to perform in a hit show.
With that in mind, let’s channel your inner superstar and get you ready for your online class!
- Set the Stage
No performance can happen until the stage is ready. Set the stage for your online class and you’ll lay a solid foundation for success. This means finding a quiet place and time to study.
Being able to “hide out” in a separate room behind a noise-reducing closed door is ideal. Of course, waiting until after dinner and setting up at the dining room table may be just as quiet depending on your situation.
Just make sure you pay attention to your ergonomics so you’re not aching after hitting the books.
BONUS: Learn more about proper ergonomics for studying.
- Hold a Dress Rehearsal
No performer would hit the stage before a live audience without a dress rehearsal, and neither should you. Log in to your online learning environment as soon as you can so that you can familiarize yourself with it.
When you’re looking around, make sure you locate the tools you can use to communicate with your fellow students. That might be a chat window, a page with forums, or something else.
Communication is even more important in an online setting than an in-person one, since you’re not physically in each other’s presence and therefore more likely to chat with one another organically.
BONUS: Here’s a sample online course environment.
- Hit Your Marks
Congratulations! You’re ready for showtime. Now all that’s left is hitting your marks. Here’s how:
- Record all course times and assignments into your calendar of choice, whether it’s an online calendar or a printed calendar hanging in your kitchen. (The benefit of a hanging calendar: it’s staring you in the face all the time.)
- Take notes during your readings as well as during class. If you write your notes out by hand, you might learn even more.
BONUS: Battle distractions with a browser extension that helps you stay focused.
Earn Straight A’s with Online Classes
The first time you take an online course, it can be a little intimidating. Give yourself the star treatment suggested here, though, and you’ll quickly earn high marks.
Online phlebotomy courses from Phlebotomy Career Training receive consistently high marks for their effectiveness and quality. Check them out here today. We look forward to seeing you in a virtual classroom soon!
Nancy L. Kimmel obtained her PhD in Environmental Engineering in 2002, then went on to teach Physics and Mechanical Engineering at Lawrence Technological University, Henry Ford College and Oakland University. She obtained her Associate in Nursing from Henry Ford College and then went on to earn her Master Degree as a Family Nurse Practitioner and became Board Certified working as a licensed FNP in the State of Michigan. She then went on to Medical School where she is now in her 3rd year, and is also in the process of obtaining her Doctorate in Nursing Practice through Chamberlin University. She has authored the NET Study Guide, as well a several books on subjects of Math, ECG/EKG and Phlebotomy. She holds a patent on an Air Filter through the U.S. Patent Office.