Have you heard of online high schools and are wondering if they’re a good option for you? Online high school is a great way to earn a high school diploma. Find out some major ways to do online high school the right way:
Be accountable
Make sure to set goals right at the beginning of the semester. Make sure to check in with yourself on a weekly basis. When it comes to a conventional classroom setting, you are likely to receive verbal/visual reminders of the upcoming due date of an assignment. However, since you do not have a professor to remind you of your assignments, you need to make sure that you have allotted sufficient time to get your work completed.This way you would not have to start an assignment a day before the due date.
If you are not able to hold yourself responsible, try to pair up with a fellow classmate. You can also enlist the help of a spouse/friend to check in as a certain accountability partner. When you are being organized and highly self-aware, you can get a lot of value from your online class.
Manage time wisely
Many tend to resort to online high school due to its flexibility. In online high school, students need to create their own schedule. However, this freedom can also be a bit detrimental if you do not have good time management skills. Thus, it might get a bit challenging for some students.
Now, the way you manage your time relies on your schedule, personality and learning style. However, you need to follow some simple tips. Make sure to look at the syllabus at the start of the semester. Take note of the prominent assignments. You must know as to which workload is coming in the weeks ahead. Do not forget to take prior commitments into account. After all, it might interfere with your daily study schedule. This way you can think of giving yourself a good deal of extra time to get your assignments completed.
Devise a weekly schedule. Designate certain hours each week to read, listening to lectures, finishing off assignments, and taking part in forums. Focus on making your online coursework part of your weekly routine. Try to set reminders for yourself to finish off this set of tasks. At the time of working on your assignments, opt for time-blocking. You can think of setting a timer to keep yourself accountable.
You must check-in from time to time throughout the term. Try to look at how you are spending your time.
Take your online course seriously
In the context of online classes, you are required to have the discipline to sit down and work on your online course. In order to make sure that you follow through properly, you need to take your online course seriously. You need to treat it like a ‘real’ course. You are required to show up if you are going to get actual value out of your class. Make sure to treat your online classes the same way you would a direct class.
Focus on staying organized
You can consider setting up a dedicated learning environment for studying. By getting your work completed on a repeated basis, you will start establishing a routine. Now, your workspace can be a library, café, corner of your room, etc. Make sure to figure out as to what type of environment will work well for you. Try to experiment to discover as to which type of setting strengthens your productivity. You need to make sure that you have high-speed internet access. This way you will not try to take an online course over a connection that is lagging.
It is important to set up a daily workspace/office. This will certainly help you to stay organized. When you know exactly where important dates, forms, syllabi, files, books, and assignments are, it will help you be on track. Thus, you are likely to fulfill your goals on time. At the time of setting up your study space, you must arrange for a high-speed internet connection. This goes without saying!
Cut down distractions
Now, when you are learning online, you are likely to come across various distractions. This set of distractions can derail your learning. No matter what, you need to find out ways to cut down these distractions and set aside time to focus well. Depending on your personality and learning patterns, you need to find a strategy that works well for you.
Irrespective of the study space, you can choose to turn your cell phone off to do away with losing focus when a text message or notification comes up. If you are still having trouble getting away from the temptation, make sure to check your email. Also, you can think of surfing the web. You must try to download a website blocker. With the help of various applications such as Cold Turkey and Freedom, you can eliminate distractions by blocking the apps/websites which tend to compete for your attention.
Try to figure out your learning patterns
When you have established your study space, try to think about when and how learning best. Accordingly, you are required to set aside a few hours after dinner to cozy up to your computer. If the kids need your attention, try to prepare a study session mid-day when they are at school. You can think of going to your go-to playlist and doing whatever you need to get. Keep in mind that not everyone learns the same way. So, you need to identify your unique learning style.
Try to think about what types of info help you best learn new concepts. You might have to use relevant study strategies. If you are into visual learning, you can think of printing out transcripts of the video lectures to look into. You must try to build time into your schedule for playing and replaying every course content that is audio or video-based.
Take part actively
Take part in the course’s online forum to enable you to understand your course materials better. Try to engage with fellow classmates. Here, you might have to comment on a classmate’s paper on a discussion board.
