Study Tips

Not long ago I took an online Continuing Education Unit on technical writing from a college offering the six week course over the internet. I started out very well, but by the second week began to fall into “I’ll get to it later” syndrome. By the time I managed to get finished with email to friends and a few games of Bejeweled I would notice the lesson waiting on my account site was supposed to have been opened by yesterday. Not good. After a couple very apologetic emails, I learned that even though getting a college degree with online courses might be more flexible there are still requirements to be met. Everyone taking a course through the internet as part of the college degree should know how to study effectively online.

The best strategy is to make a class time for yourself. Even though it’s your time, there still should be some structure to the study habits. Pick a time each day to sign onto your account or class site and check email, look for assignments and communicate with the teachers. By having a “class time” you will be disciplined enough not to let too much time go by or miss something important. You never want to get so caught up in going about the other things in life you forget that you are in college.

Even though the bulk of your learning and activity will happen on your computer, you should treat this class like any other that you would take while getting a college degree. Buy a notebook or folder to keep all your materials or notes in. We learn better by writing so take notes of the things you see or hear onscreen, especially of you are listening to an audio-streamed lecture. Treat this lecture just as you would in a college class. Listen for detail and jot down any questions you may have.

cEffective online habits come through practice and perspective. You might be at home with a computer full of games and friends, but technically, you’re still in school.

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Like many others, I have cats in my house. To be more accurate, I am owned by cats who allow me to feed them and pay the mortgage so they can live here.  One of the best things about cats is the sleek and stunning way they get around. They can flip in the air, land on their paws and stretch their body as they lay in the sun so that their paws go one direction and their head goes the other.  That just looks like it feels so good. Of course the key to cats is the flexible spine which allows them to rotate in all kinds of directions with grace and poise.  Flexibility is the great advantage of online study when getting a college degree.  Don’t take that flexibility for granted, though. There is a big difference between a cat’s spine and boneless chicken.

Effective online study involves dedication to the process of the course over the scheduled time.  Many courses will list times or dates by which a chapter or online session must be completed. Keep a written calendar of those dates like a syllabus or set your online calendar to send you notices when those dates are due.  Even though lectures are there on the screen for you to read, print them out and highlight the parts that are most important, just like you would a textbook. The point isn’t just to check off the boxes and get through the class, the point is to learn from it.

No one gets a college degree in a vacuum and you will be expected to participate in online groups, chat sessions and emails sharing project objectives and completions.  Make sure to always follow the rules of group etiquette and behavior. The safety of being behind a computer keyboard can lead some to act in ways they generally wouldn’t. Avoid procrastination, especially in sections where group work is involved. Accountability is an important trait to learn when getting your degree.

Follow up and follow through and you will discover the flexibility of online study can be an effective and efficient way to get your degree and land on your own two feet.

Whether it’s an email to a friend talking about a trip I’ve taken or a lunch conversation with someone telling them about a book I’ve read, I like to talk a lot.  Like many other talkers, I have had to learn how to read the signs of polite communication, such as when their eyes glaze over and they start staring out the window, its time for me to stop talking.  The human brain can only hear so much and once it’s overloaded it will simply shut off.  That’s why one of the things you will learn in your college degree is the art of writing a case study. Case studies are small versions of reports, issues or analysis that are focused on one particular idea or incident. They are the very essence of condensed communication.

The Harvard Business School has developed a style for case studies that is generally accepted as an appropriate formula for writing a case study.  A case study involves the subject in the first paragraph then through a series of steps, depending how short the case study is meant to be, focus on the situation, the problem, proposed solutions, and conclusion.  Each step should be clearly delineated with subtitles that keep a reader’s interest and lead logically to the next step in the process. If a college degree does anything for you, it should make more logical and process oriented.

The other key to balancing a case study is to ensure you have a good solution to the original problem or case in question.  It’s easy to get focused on describing the situation and problem in order the fill the word requirement because you have a week solution.  However a case study isn’t a biography and people wanting writing that is college level are looking for answers. Balance out the development of your study so each part of the text has the same level of development and merit.

A case study is a fantastic short form document for situational analysis which reveals your thought process and ability to lead in settings requiring solution-based thought. In this case, like so many other things, the shorter the better.