In recent years, a new form of education – distance learning (DL) – has become very popular in educational institutions. This is due to the fact that students can study at their own pace, in any place, and save both their own time and money. Such a form of education is especially suitable for students who are employed because they can get new knowledge and skills without interrupting their main activity and continuing to accumulate work experience. But, for e-learning to be effective, it is necessary to organize it correctly. In particular, active material assimilation to a great extent is connected with the presence of practical tasks and solutions of various cases.
The Main Mistakes That Are Made In The Organization Of Distance Learning
Distance learning is an available and modern way to get knowledge, which is perfect for those who are motivated to achieve the result and who are not ready to postpone their professional development. But there are certain mistakes, making which you are very likely to fail to achieve the desired result.
Mistake #1: Organizing Training On The Principle Of A Regular Lesson
Distance learning is a different format than regular classes held in educational institutions. For it to be effective and for students to get the knowledge they need, the instructor needs to know how to work online and build online lessons competently. Students should ask questions and get answers in real-time, and then consolidate their knowledge, for example, by solving a variety of problems.
Mistake #2: Perceiving E-Learning As Some Kind Of Indulgence
Students can easily decide that distance solving is a kind of “relaxation” if there is no clear plan of action or specific system in the rules of the work. Classes should follow a flexible and convenient schedule. The student should always know what is planned for the day, what he needs to do, and when, this will allow him to easily combine the learning process with other activities: courses, gym, work.
Mistake #3: The Traditional Grading System
A system that uses “D’s” and “F’s” does not fit with the preschool format. As a rule, universities use a point-rating system. Successful completion of a test or exam is only one factor that affects the grade. No less important are answers to questions, completion of tests, homework, and some other factors. As a result, students who qualify for good grades must inflate their grades throughout the year for successful grading.
Mistake #4: Assign A Lot Of Homework
Often, not knowing how to properly organize preschool and in order to compensate for the absence of regular classes, educational institutions assign “mountains” of homework. As a result, students have to learn the curriculum virtually by themselves and spend several hours a day doing their homework.
How To Organize Effective Distance Learning: Tips And Recommendations
Homeschooling can give the student a false sense of freedom, but it’s really just disorganization. At first, the student is happy with a lot of free time, and then he/she stops keeping up with the program. To prevent this from happening, check out the tips and advice below to help organize effective learning.
Get Rid Of All Kinds Of Information Garbage
By information garbage, we mean a large flow of information, where the usefulness of each new data set is less and less. It may include everything that can distract from the educational process. That is, these are messengers, social networks, news portals, TV, computer games, etc. Even if you know how to multitask, you should not rely on such an ability. Multitasking at the same time can reduce the effectiveness of learning. If you find it difficult to control yourself and not visit a variety of web resources during classes or when doing homework, then use a site blocker, making necessary exceptions in advance.
Create A Workspace
To fully learn remotely, you need to create all the conditions for this. First of all, you need to prepare the workplace – for this you need a comfortable chair, and preferably an office chair, a spacious, free of any extraneous things table and proper lighting. Behind an uncomfortable table and chair your back begins to get tired quickly and severely, and as a result, it will be difficult to concentrate on learning. In addition, stock up on the necessary stationery, particularly notebooks and pens.
Try Not To Get Distracted
You are lucky if nothing distracts you during classes. But if there are a lot of irritants around, you should address this issue beforehand, otherwise, you won’t be able to concentrate. Ask your relatives not to turn on the TV or music at high volume during webinars, and not to distract you. In addition, you should not be disturbed by alerts for new messages on social networks and messengers. If possible, turn off all notification services so that you can focus as much as possible on your studies, temporarily forget about your virtual correspondence.
Learn To Force Yourself
If you have a hard time getting up in the morning and finding the motivation to start studying, don’t beat yourself up about it. Alternatively, you can reward yourself for certain achievements. Did you do all your homework on time? In that case, you deserve a walk or dinner with friends. Such prizes can serve as a good motivation for action. Agree with yourself that you can go for a walk or play an online game only after a certain number of tasks.
Motivate Yourself
Prepare a list of reasons why you need to study. Write them down on a piece of paper and place them in a prominent place to see at all times. As soon as you get the urge to skip a class, reread that list and remind yourself why you need to study hard. Reasons can range from wanting to get a red diploma to wanting to keep your scholarship or simply to avoid the problems that can come from a bad grade.
Don’t Put Off Your Homework
Try to get your writing assignments done as quickly and on time as possible. If you keep putting them off, thinking that there is still a lot of time ahead (as it seems at first), you will end up having trouble scoring the required number of points. To avoid this, set yourself a limit for the assignments you are given for homework, even if the instructor does not set it himself. The optimal time is two days.
Work With Like-Minded People
When studying remotely, concentration on the subject can suffer. So team up with fellow students and create a group of interests. This way you can monitor each other’s learning process and master the learning material at a certain pace.
Help Others
If you feel that you have learned certain topics very well, a great way to solidify the material in your head is to help other students who are having difficulty with that topic. By explaining the same topic several times, you will be repeating it yourself.
Try To Visualize The Information
Visual information is usually absorbed faster and better than any other way of conveying material. Try to visualize your lectures, notes, and answers in your homework by using markers, colored stickers, illustrated character notes, and other methods of remembering information. For example, to memorize new foreign words, economics terms, or math formulas faster, print them out on appropriately sized paper and post them around your room.
Don’t Be Afraid To Ask Questions
If the lesson is online, don’t ignore questions that arise. Ask them right away, whenever possible. Do not close your eyes to the fact that you do not understand some terms and formulas, otherwise, the topic remains incompletely studied. Even if you do not manage to find answers to all your questions in the course of the lesson, make sure you write them down separately, so that you can sort out everything that you do not understand on your own. No one will ask you too many times if you understand everything.
Use A Voice Recorder
A dictaphone or a smartphone function can be very useful if you need to learn the course material by heart. It’s worth writing it down so you can play it whenever you like and listen to it again, for example during a walk or a ride on public transportation. The more often you listen, the faster you memorize words and terms that did not want to be deposited in the head. In addition, the recorded speech will help you to set the right pauses and identify weaknesses together, as well as to find the optimal pace of speaking.
Look For The Right Information
Many students turn to search engines to find important information – few use the usual textbooks and tutorials today. But first, understand the basics of search engines so you can find the information you need in a short amount of time. Start your search with simple queries, and add a few more qualifying words as needed. When entering a search query, select words that are likely to be present in the resource you need. Also, don’t worry about using capital letters. If you don’t feel comfortable typing in a query, since it takes up a lot of your time, then use voice search, which all popular search engines have.
Don’t Forget To Change
Sometimes you can get so caught up in learning about a topic that food and rest fall by the wayside. Of course, the main problem with DO is the usual laziness, but overzealousness is not always a good thing either. It is necessary to periodically take breaks to eat and rest, otherwise you will have neither strength nor desire for further development. Make breaks should be every 30-50 minutes. During the break, it is recommended to walk a little, breathe the air and just give your eyes a rest. This way you can protect yourself from overloading.
Increase The Concentration Of Physical Activity And Watch Your Diet
10-15 minutes of walking or light exercise will not only help you get rid of stress but also help you focus more easily on your studies. This way you can remember more of the information you need and learn more effectively. Alternatively, you can join a gym, because regular physical activity will improve your memory and attention. At the same time don’t forget to watch your diet – even when studying at home, you shouldn’t eat something during webinars and lectures. There are several reasons for this, in particular, chewing and digestion significantly reduce brain activity. In addition, the cutlery in your hands will interfere with taking notes. Try to eat a full lunch, but if you feel like eating out at lunchtime, choose a healthy snack – boiled eggs, cheese, nuts, dried fruit, vegetable and berry juices, and more.
Prepare Outlines
Although all methodological and lecture materials are usually available electronically when you study remotely, try to write outlines. A brief summary of the studied topics, which are succinctly presented in written form, will become a kind of cheat sheet for the next knowledge test. Also, notes help to emphasize the most important points in the study material and thoroughly prepare for examinations.
Divide Your Material Into Parts
If you need to absorb a lot of information and you feel overwhelmed because you do not know where to start, divide your material into smaller tasks. Be sure to write down each of your steps on a piece of paper so you can complete them one by one – check the box next to the completed tasks. This way you can see your progress in learning a lot of material and feel like you’re in complete control of the situation.
Correctly Combine Distance Learning And Work
Often, students who have jobs can choose distance learning, because both activities can be combined with each other. If the chosen educational program in the university is more related to your work, then you can use the acquired knowledge immediately in practice, which will allow you to consolidate them.
Rebecca Carter works as a content writer for a company that helps students with their writing assignments. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Digital Marketing and developed an interest in writing articles about her experience. Rebecca enjoys being in the mountains, going to the gym, horseback riding, and volunteering when she is not writing.
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