Because of COVID-19, we as students have had to adapt to taking our college classes online.
This guide will help you succeed with this new medium.
1. Manage Your Time Wisely
This is important for a few reasons.
1. Keeping track of assignments is key since you won’t have the professor reminding you in class.
2. Some professors will not like having scheduled Zoom classes, and instead, opt to just send video lectures out to the class. If this is the case, try and stick as much as possible to watching the videos during the normal “class time”.
That is to say, if you have that class scheduled at 11am on Tuesdays and Thursdays, watch the lectures at those times.
Otherwise, it will be easier to procrastinate which will ultimately lead to cramping of the material before a test.
3. Forming a good day to day schedule of what you have to do is the best way to be successful. Be sure to schedule in not just your classes, but also your study blocks and lunch breaks.
It will feel great to get up in the morning and know that today you only have a day planned out until 3 pm, and the rest of the day you can do whatever you want.
2. Take Notes
Taking good notes is just as important in online class settings than in a normal classroom setting.
Effective note-taking can help you concentrate in class and better understand what the main concepts are. And of course, note-taking has also been proven to improve retention.
3. Minimize Distractions
We all hate to hear it but there is a reason why a large percentage of professors do not let their students take notes on computers anymore!
It is important to treat your class just like you would if you were in front of your professor in a classroom setting.
Believe me, it is tempting now that you are already on your computer just to open a new tab and scroll through your social media.
But keep in mind, if you are using Zoom, your professor can see if you left the zoom session after a few seconds.
Besides from social media distractions, it is also important to try and minimize distractions in your study space.
What helps me is to find one or two spaces in my house where I have the ability to close the door and not hear the TV or other people. This also helps your head get in the study mood every time you sit down to work in those areas.
4. Engage with the Class Material
Hands down the best way to feel confident about the material you are learning is to participate in class.
Three ways to do this are:
1.Participate in lectures
By participating in lectures you get real-time feedback from your professor on your answers. This will also keep you engaged in class, and will give you a nice confidence boost if you are doing well.
2.Attend office hours if you have questions
Best advice I can give you on this is that if you have a question or feel stuck with the material, try and schedule office hours ASAP. If you wait on this, you might never do it. Thus leading to a gap in your knowledge that will hurt you going forward!
If you don’t feel comfortable talking to the professor one-on-one, ask friends instead! Which leads me to point #3.
3.Teach others
If you feel comfortable with the material and know it pretty well, a great way to review the material is to teach it to others.
Working with others has the advantages of bringing you a sense of community and accountability while making it fun to study.
Therefore, if you know a classmate that is struggling, it might be worth your time to try and help them out.
5. Familiarize Yourself With the Media Your School is Using
It’s in the little things!
Learn how long it takes you to open everything you need up in your computer, so you have enough time to jump out of bed in the morning and be ready.
With Zoom, do not send something on private message you do not want your professors reading. They can read private messages in transcripts after the class is done.
For test-taking, make sure you have everything that you need downloaded. You might need to download a lockdown browser or update the systems you already have. Make sure to take care of all of that before the test, not the day of.
Taking college classes online requires us to get used to new media, and knowing the ins and outs of it will ensure that we don’t run into issues.
6. Don’t Think You’ll Be Able to Cheat on Your Tests Now That They Are Online
Most tests right now are open book open note, as it is impossible at the moment to proctor thorough zoom, but don’t let that fool you.
Because of the advantages of having your notes to help through tests, professors are putting restrictions on time.
Tests that you would have an hour to do if you were in class, now you only have 45 mins available.
Professors are also increasing the level of difficulty of their tests to keep students accountable, and away from cheating. So make sure to account for that!
They are also adding extra projects. You might be asked to do a separate project to show that you know what you are doing, or have a big project instead of a test. Make sure to read the syllabus or ask your professor if that is the case.
7. Stay In Touch With Your Professor
For me, the best part of Zoom learning has been the ability to meet with my professors more.
Just like you, they are trying to quarantine, thus spending more time at home.
This, in most situations, means that they have more time where they can be available to their students. Instead of meeting them in school at a certain office hour, there is more flexibility of meeting times.
Definitely take this opportunity to your advantage.
You would not believe how much professors miss having you in class for them, so they will love to spend that extra time with you.
