With the World at our fingers tips and instant access to so much information. How do we pick the right course and make sure we achieve it?
After talking to many students who have undertaken a variety of online courses ranging from full degrees, to short un-accredited CPD (continuous professional development) courses we gathered some great top tips.
Firstly, many students said they thought studying for an online academic course was harder than attending a face to face course, but only because they were unprepared and had come straight from School with a regimented routine of learning and a teacher constantly pushing them. Once they realised that they were fully responsible for their own learning they felt online learning was significantly better as they were fully in charge.
So, top tip number one is to be aware than online learning requires you to motivate yourself to learn and study. Your course tutor/assessor will be there when you need them but they wont push you like teachers did at School. Once you know this, you will benefit from the flexibility that online learning offers in terms of access, time, and cost effective achievement.
A few other tips they discussed included:
- Research the course first, compare costs as some are a lot cheaper than others
- If you require a nationally recognised qualification make sure the course is accredited and that you will receive a certificate
- Spend some time on their website looking at other courses to see what they specialise in
- Find out what software is required. We use Google Aps for Education for all of our courses as they are compatible with any device and free for the student!
- Get yourself if the right frame of mind to learn and complete assignments. If you aren’t mentally prepared to work hard, it is unlikely you will pass the course
- Contact the company and ask questions. This could include asking how long it takes to complete the course. If you have a question….ask it!
- Set yourself weekly or monthly targets. This includes learning and assignment time. Some course tutors/assessor will agree targets with you to help you stick to them
- Set up a space to study. Try to create a distraction free area and set up a rota if you share a laptop or computer
If you like the idea of online courses as you want to fit learning and studying around your life to gain a qualification, and as long as you prepare, the benefits will be endless.
As the old saying goes….”proper preparation prevents poor performance”
Apply the five P’s to your online course and you will go far!
