Distance Learning Study Tips
Distance learning is a fabulous new way to get an advanced education. It allows you to work at home on your own schedule and it allows you to set your own pace for learning. But remember, you still have to do all of the work. It’s just like that old saying, easy does it; but do it!!
In order to be successful in achieving your distance learning goals you will have to develop a sense and source of personal motivation and you will also need good study habits. Just as successful students almost always have good study habits, so too is your online success directly tied to good studying in your distance learning program. Here are a few tips to help you get started off on the right foot.
Set up a study schedule and stick to it. If you need to do two hours of study for every online hour then schedule a fixed time when you will do your studying. Pick a time when you are least likely to be interrupted, it can be early in the morning before the rest of your family wakes up, or it can be later in the day when everyone is gone to work or school.
Don’t pick just before dinner when everyone is unwinding and catching up on their day or listening to their favorite, and very loud, music. You need the peace and quiet in order to concentrate. Some people study in the basement or even the garage. It doesn’t matter where it is as long as it is convenient, quiet, and conducive to your studies.
Plan your study time when everyone else is busy with their own activities. It might be when the kids are gone to sports or dance class or when your spouse is at their bowling night out.
It might be Saturday morning while the kids watch cartoons or your wife is sleeping in. It helps if other people are busy because they won’t be able to interrupt your studying.
Another tip for successful studying in your distance learning program includes creating a space for yourself within your home where you actually enjoy spending time. Some people like to study on the back porch on nice days or in front of a cozy fire on colder nights. As long as you are comfortable it is a good place to study.
Try and protect that space by telling all of your family that this area is off limits during your study time. Make up a small sign that says “Student at Work” or even “Quiet, Please”. You may have to tell them a few times, especially your kids, but sooner rather than later they will get it and respect your need for this study time and space.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Distance Learning
Distance Learning Is Not For Everyone
Distance learning is a great advance forward in making education more accessible to millions of Americans who would simply not have the time or resources to obtain a college degree or technical certificate. It allows people from all over the country, even in remote or rural areas to plug into technology that lets them learn, at their own speed and on their own time.
But distance learning is not for everyone and some people need the familiar surroundings of a real classroom and a real teacher in order to learn. That’s because our traditional education model features three key components that have proven to be effective in helping to educate large numbers of people. Those components are human teacher expression and explanation, student note-taking based on the teacher’s presentation, and peer communication between the students that is facilitated by the teacher.
None of these elements are present in distance learning and as a result it becomes a foreign way for students, old or young, to receive and process the information in order to learn.
In order to be successful in distance learning we must find a way to overcome the fact that these traditional elements are missing in our online education. Some people can do that and others cannot.
Other barriers to distance learning include having the ability to be self-motivated and to do all of the necessary work including studying in order to be successful. If you can’t study or complete assignments without the monitoring and occasional nudge from a teacher then distance learning may not be for you. Similarly if you don’t have the discipline to participate in all online events and to protect your time and space from interruptions and distractions you will find it very hard to go through a distance learning program.
Distance learning may not be for you as well if you already have a busy life that involves a lot of time and responsibilities. You can try and study as you watch over your children at the pool, but sooner or later one of your kids will by accident or design pull you away from your studies. You can try and do a distance learning program while working 60 hours at the office, but eventually something will give, and that’s likely to be your homework assignment.
Distance learning really is a giant step forward in using technology to improve our lives and education. Just remember that it may not be right for you, at least right now.
Distance learning is a great advance forward in making education more accessible to millions of Americans who would simply not have the time or resources to obtain a college degree or technical certificate. It allows people from all over the country, even in remote or rural areas to plug into technology that lets them learn, at their own speed and on their own time.
But distance learning is not for everyone and some people need the familiar surroundings of a real classroom and a real teacher in order to learn. That’s because our traditional education model features three key components that have proven to be effective in helping to educate large numbers of people. Those components are human teacher expression and explanation, student note-taking based on the teacher’s presentation, and peer communication between the students that is facilitated by the teacher.
None of these elements are present in distance learning and as a result it becomes a foreign way for students, old or young, to receive and process the information in order to learn.
In order to be successful in distance learning we must find a way to overcome the fact that these traditional elements are missing in our online education. Some people can do that and others cannot.
Other barriers to distance learning include having the ability to be self-motivated and to do all of the necessary work including studying in order to be successful. If you can’t study or complete assignments without the monitoring and occasional nudge from a teacher then distance learning may not be for you. Similarly if you don’t have the discipline to participate in all online events and to protect your time and space from interruptions and distractions you will find it very hard to go through a distance learning program.
Distance learning may not be for you as well if you already have a busy life that involves a lot of time and responsibilities. You can try and study as you watch over your children at the pool, but sooner or later one of your kids will by accident or design pull you away from your studies. You can try and do a distance learning program while working 60 hours at the office, but eventually something will give, and that’s likely to be your homework assignment.
Distance learning really is a giant step forward in using technology to improve our lives and education. Just remember that it may not be right for you, at least right now.
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