Being well prepared before you embark on your academic career will help you to not only avoid unnecessary stress, but also to enjoy the journey. Here are 8 behind-the-scenes secrets you鈥檒l be glad you learned prior to taking your first online course:
#1 It聽is聽easier than you think.
If you haven鈥檛 read a book or written a paper since your high school days 鈥 don鈥檛 worry!聽You鈥檒l make it through your online college courses just fine. First and foremost, you have the authentic and constant support of a team of professionals at 糖心传媒 鈥 including each course鈥檚 instructor 鈥 who聽want聽you to succeed. They are not focused on creating impossible hoops that you are supposed to jump through, or overloading you with work each week that no one could possibly complete.聽You will have to schedule time to read the materials and complete the required assignments, but the work and the requirements are聽not聽impossible. From tutoring services to resources that give you step-by-step instructions on how to put your academic work together, you鈥檒l have all the help and resources you鈥檒l need to succeed in each course.
You have the authentic and constant support of a team of professionals at 糖心传媒 鈥 including each course鈥檚 instructor 鈥 who聽want聽you to succeed.
#2 Due dates are set in stone for a course, so you can plan ahead.
All due dates will be posted at the onset of each course 鈥 so that is set in stone and you can look through the whole course syllabus to see what is due and when it is due. You are free to browse throughout each week鈥檚 work and see exactly what day鈥檚 assignments are due and then put those due dates on your calendar. If you look ahead and plan accordingly, it will help you to submit your work on time and give you time to complete the projects thoroughly.
#3 You鈥檙e not expected to read聽every聽single resource each week.
Don鈥檛 be overwhelmed with a week鈥檚 list of videos, articles, and book chapters recommended for you to review. The tools and information are there to help you understand the week鈥檚 topic, but no one expects you to read every single word in every single source every single week. One of the awesome aspects of the weekly discussions is that your peers will likely choose to comment about and reference some of the resources that you didn鈥檛 read thoroughly. Of course, you can鈥檛 count on simply reading what your peers post 鈥 you鈥檒l want to share your own original thoughts for your discussion postings! So, while you are not expected or required to read every single article, reference, and book chapter for each week鈥檚 assignments, you will be expected to read what your classroom peers (and your instructor) have shared on the discussion board.
#4 It鈥檚 better to turn something in late than not at all.
Some college students 鈥 whether taking classes online or via a traditional brick-and-mortar classroom setting 鈥 think that if they missed an assignment鈥檚 due date, it鈥檚 too late to do it and they should just focus on the next assignment instead. On the contrary, it is always much better to still do the late/missed assignments and turn them in after the due date than to not submit them at all.聽While you鈥檒l probably have a couple of points deducted for turning an assignment in late, that is much better than earning a 鈥渮ero鈥 for not turning in the work at all.
#5 Develop a rapport with your instructors.
Your instructors are people, too! At the onset of each course, he or she will provide a personal introduction about their academic accomplishments, career path, and possibly information about their family life or interests. If you know that you are going to be late submitting an assignment, or if you are stuck on exactly what to do for an assignment, send an email to your instructor. He/she will appreciate that you took the time before a project was due to reach out and let him/her know what is going on. They鈥檙e more than happy to聽work with you to help ensure your continued success in the course.
#6 Peruse the course requirements and the university鈥檚 website.
Before a course actually starts, you鈥檒l typically get a few days to check out the course syllabus and get acclimated to what is expected of you. Set aside some time to explore the academic website and to complete any tutorials provided so that you can feel confident in your ability to post discussions, respond to your peers, and submit assignments virtually. You wouldn鈥檛 want to be bogged down with technical issues that could have been avoided had you taken the time to look around first! If you have any questions, send your instructor a note. If your questions are ones that you feel perhaps some of your peers might also have, post your questions in the聽forum instead of via a personal email. This way, other students will be able to see your question(s) and the instructor鈥檚 responses without having to ask individually.
#7 Get (and stay) organized.
As you move forward in your studies, there will be research you鈥檝e done and assignments you鈥檝e already completed for other courses that will help you complete future work. You don鈥檛 want to waste time searching through all your files to find a past assignment, so staying organized can help set you up for success.聽Give each聽course聽its own folder on your laptop, replete with the name of the course and the months you took the course. Then, for each聽蹿颈濒别听within that folder, detail the contents of each particular document in the name of the file. For example, you might label a folder as聽鈥淎惫别谤别迟迟冲惭补谤办别迟颈苍驳冲闯补苍-础辫谤2018鈥聽and a document within that folder as聽鈥淎惫别谤别迟迟冲惭补谤办别迟颈苍驳冲飞别别办2-诲颈蝉肠耻蝉蝉颈辞苍-蝉辞肠颈补濒尘别诲颈补冲闯补苍22鈥.聽 In addition, you may want to keep separate folders for research articles you鈥檝e found that were of particular interest, too. This will come in handy if your academic program requires a major paper, thesis, or final project due at the end of it. Taking a few extra minutes while you are completing assignments to label and save them properly on your computer could save a lot of time in the long run.
# 8 Answer聽all聽the questions.
To earn the most possible points for each assignment, post, and response you submit in each class, and to demonstrate your thoroughness and attention to detail, be sure to answer or address each component requested.聽There will likely be a rubric for every assignment, so you鈥檒l be able to look at that grading scale ahead of time to see what your instructor is using as a guide when grading your work. To ensure you鈥檝e answered all the questions, you can use each question or required component as a 鈥渉eading鈥 and then respond underneath it before you post it. That way, you set yourself up to receive as many points as possible on each assignment!
While all eight of these behind-the-scenes secrets may not pertain to you immediately, at some point during your academic career they鈥檙e sure to come up.聽Being proactive and knowing how to navigate your way through your academic journey ahead of time will help to make the whole experience stress-free and enjoyable.