How to Prepare For and Succeed In Online Schools

Starting something new can be a scary and potentially difficult undertaking, especially when that something is your education and will likely be a multi-year, expensive commitment.

Before beginning your career as an online college student, browse through the following articles. All focus on how to make the transition into online school easy, fun, and worth your time.

The First Day of Distance Learning: What to Expect and How to Prepare Setting Up the Home for Distance Learning How to Write Quality Forum Posts How to Make Friends in Online Classes How to Conduct Online Research

Succeeding at Online Group Work Distance Learning and Plagiarism How an Academic Advisor Can Help Me The Benefit of Student Organizations

The First Day of Distance Learning: What to Expect and How to Prepare

1. Double check that you have all your materials. Even though online students do not have to worry about filling backpacks with text books and calculators, computer specifications and required software/devices are just as essential. Most schools provide a list of requirements well in advance, but it is always a good idea to verify before beginning class.


2. Clear an area as a reserved workspace. For students looking to learn from home, it is important to create an area designated for school. A distraction-free area is a good way to optimize learning and get the most out of an online education. The same philosophy applies to multiple or mobile classrooms. Keep school and home separate.


3. Familiarize yourself with the environment. By learning as much as possible about the virtual environment or software you are using for classes, you will reduce the amount of confusion and shorten the learning curve for adapting to the tools; you should not have to have to worry about learning two things at once.


4. Get your books. Order any textbooks or software immediately (in advance if possible).


5. Tap your resources. Make sure you locate any helpful links or department contacts to save some digging if you ever run into a problem. Tech Support, guidance, and admissions are all staple contacts.


6. Get to class early. Make sure you have the appropriate user name and password information, then log in a few minutes early so that you can catch up on any introductory information and avoid missing out because of technical difficulties.


7. Read the course description and syllabus. There is no reason not to brush up on the main objectives and the course outline before getting started. This will also help you to understand the focus of the class and not feel bombarded if your professor outlines the class in the lecture; you will understand the timeline of what needs to be accomplished before it is due.


8. Read up on the professor. Get a headstart and research your professors. The more famililar you are with your instructors, the easier it will be to converse with them and feel comfortable in your environment.


9. Break the ice. On your first day, it is helpful to familiarize yourself with the other students and instructors. This will help you meet new people and feel comfortable when learning. It will also help you form study groups and participate in discussions.


10. Relax. Remember that this is a school. It takes some getting used to. After a week, you will be involved in the learning process, and on your way to feeling acclimated.

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Setting Up the Home for Distance Learning

• Explore the space. Partition a quiet space in your home to be used exclusively for school. If you only use this space for studying, it will help you maintain an academic mindset, and it will allow everyone else to understand that you are busy with school when you are occupying that space.

• Keep it quiet. It's easy to ignore background noise in daily life, but everything is amplified when you are trying to focus in a quiet study environment. Everything is considerably more noticeable when you need quiet; a bathroom fan, a washing machine, a faucet dripping, clocks ticking, and cupboards closing can be a major distraction.

• Be comfortable yet attentive. You need to be comfortable enough to spend a significant portion of time studying, but not so comfortable that you feel drowsy or lethargic. An ergonomic desk chair, bright display, and well-lit desk are all standards, but if you can stay productive in a more eclectic environment, feel free to try it.

• Avoid Disruptions. Create signs or some sort of signal to let significant others, children, or neighbors know that you should not be interrupted. If possible, establish a consistent study time so that the people you live with will adapt to a schedule.

• Stay organized. Everyone has a different study method, but some form of organization is key in order to optimize learning. Messes and scattered material take time to sift through and are a distraction. You should keep all study material and learning aids in your designated study area and keep it organized for optimal efficiency and quick access.

Essential Equipment for Online Learning

Much like tradition school classes, every online course is slightly different in both the way they work and in the type of equipment they require. Some courses are done completely over email, while others use more complex systems, such as video conferencing, voice conferencing, and mobile devices. These are some of the most basic equipment pieces you may need to begin an online program:

•  Up-to-date computer (preferably made within the last three years)
•  High-speed Internet (a computer with wi-fi is preferable)
•  TV, VCR and/or DVD player
•  CD player
•  Personal email account

If you don't have access to this type of technology, there are a number of alternative options. Public libraries usually provide access to computers and high-speed Internet. This is a great way for students who do not have a computer to earn a degree online. Another option to consider if you do not own a computer is to purchase a used computer at a severely discounted price.

If you have a computer with Wi-Fi capability, but no Internet connection in your home there are still many ways of getting online. For example, there are both free and cheap Internet networks offered through local businesses, such as coffee shops and bookstores, that would be ideal for online learning.

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How to Write Quality Forum Posts

Participation in an online class is often a key part of the course grade. If your class uses a forum to discuss course topics, here are six tips for writing intelligent and relevant forum posts.

Brainstorm
The first key to writing a worthwhile forum post is to have already formulated ideas. After all, if you do not have anything to say, you can not say it. Sometimes comments come incredibly easily because you already know a lot about the topic or you have a strong opinion. Other times, you will have to reach a little further. Write down your initial thoughts on the topic or question. Thoroughly do the reading. If you simply skim a passage, you are bound to miss key elements. On the other hand, when assignments are done carefully, understanding increases and you already have an establishing platform to achieve the high-quality forum post you aspire towards.

Pay Attention to Grammar and Spelling
Although online forums are not designed for formal writing, it is still critical to pay attention to details like spelling, grammar, and mechanics. The easiest way to do this is to read your post out loud to yourself before posting it in the forum. This might seem annoying and time consuming at first, but it is the easiest and fastest way to find significant mistakes.

Also, type your post in a word processing program first so that you can run a quick spell check. Using standard and correct English makes it easier for people to understand what you are saying. Above all, stay away from instant-messaging and texting shortcuts. They come off as lazy in an academic setting.

Respond
Pay attention to what your classmates have to say and respond thoughtfully. Always be polite even if you strongly disagree with what they have to say. Anticipating your classmates' reactions to your ideas can also have benefits. If you have thought about the weaknesses in your argument, you will better be able to defend yourself.

Ask Questions
Do not be afraid to ask questions, whether out of curiosity or because there is a concept that you are having trouble understanding. Other students, as well as the professor, will welcome the chance for dialogue that you are providing.

Identify Contradictions
If you see conflicting ideas within the course material (in the readings or in your classmates' comments) identify them and ask what other people think. This is a sign that you are deeply engaged in the course topic. Do not be afraid to politely draw attention to contradictory statements.

Maintain an Appropriate Length
If you are really inspired by the current forum topic and you write down all of your thoughts and ideas in a three-page rant, great. But cut down that rant before you post it. We read differently online than we do in print. Edit your own work and take out paragraphs where you repeat yourself or where you go off on unrelated tangents. Monopolizing a forum is not fair to the other students and you may miss other crucial points if you do not give your peers a chance to discuss.

Your posts do not necessarily need to be short, but they should be easily scanned. Use short-to-medium paragraphs with strong topic sentences. Nobody likes to see a big, thick block of text that is not broken into paragraphs. Such postings are often ignored, even if they are brilliant.

By investing a little time and effort in your forum posts, you will stand out from the crowd and show your professor that you are deeply engaged in the subject.

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How to Make Friends in Online Classes

One of the most common misconceptions about online education is that classes are less social than they would be on campus. However, many online classes demand a great deal of interaction between students. After all, if you are already on Facebook or MySpace, or if you have a blog that many people read, you know that the online world can be just as chatter filled as the offline one.

In contrast, many on-campus university classes are large, anonymous lecture classes with three hundred students. It is about as interactive as watching TV.

Here are six tips for making sure that your online classes are as social as you want them to be:

1. Choose Wisely
If you are considering a class that requires participation as a major component of the course, you are in luck. Nothing helps you get to know your fellow students better than lively online dialogue via chat, forums, or group blogs. Try to select classes for their interactive potential, and you will have better luck getting to know your peers and probably a more valuable educational experience as a whole.

2. Take the Lead
Your classmates might be shy so you should not hesitate to be the first to initiate conversation. Ask questions, make jokes, and above all, share ideas. Be interested in your fellow students and in what they have to say. If you are the one to start the conversation, your classmates will look to you as a leader and want to get to know you better as well.

3. Pay Attention
Of course you will pay attention to the course material but pay attention to your peers as well. Remember what their interests are, remember what they have to say and repeat it back to them with additional commentary. They will feel valued because you remembered what they said.

4. Imagine
If your course is set up so that your classmates have avatars, it can be easier to remember who is who. If not, you will have to improvise. Make up a mental picture of your peers. It can be easier to relate to someone who has a face in your mind. Later, if you ever meet in real life, you can laugh about how off base you were.

5. Go the Extra Mile
Try your best to be helpful to your fellow students. Answer questions, post related links, or draw the professor's attention to areas of confusion. Your classmates will thank you.

6. Look to the Future
Be a professional in all of your dealings with classmates. They are part of the network of your future career. It goes without saying, but at all times be courteous, no matter how much you may disagree with someone.

With any educational pursuit, you get out what you put in. The same can be said of the social aspect of online courses. With the right choices, your online class can be dynamic, challenging and socially interactive. It is up to you.

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How to Conduct Online Research

You have a paper due in two weeks. How do you know which online sources are the best to use? Here is a hint: free-essay-spam-site.com is a bad choice. [Not a real site. We hope.] But not all questionable sources are so obviously poor. Here are some tips for finding and using appropriate online sources for your papers.

1. Know Your Search Engines
Google, Yahoo, and Bing should be your main choices for search engines. Students find Google particularly helpful because of Google Scholar and Google Book Search. Google Scholar allows students to find peer-reviewed papers, articles from academic publishers, abstracts and more. Google Book Search lets people find information from thousands of scanned volumes. Users can then choose to buy the book or find a nearby library where it can be checked out. Frequently, users can view entire texts online.

2. Use the Right Search Terms
Learn how to search for information efficiently. Use specific search terms to find what you want (searching, for instance, sea scallops, scalloped potatoes, or scallop sewing will get you very different results), and do not forget that quotation marks can be incredibly useful. If you put quotation marks around your search term, the search engine will return only pages containing the exact phrase you typed.

3. Use Online Databases
There are several online databases of scholarly or general interest articles such as ProQuest or EBSCOhost available to students. Most universities will subscribe to these databases and make the content free for their students. If you are having a hard time locating your university's free databases, contact a librarian. They should be able to show you how to log in through your university's website. Scholarly databases can be fantastic sources of information, often accessible without leaving home.

4. Ask
Your professor may be able to refer you to industry-specific journals. It is also a good idea to contact the reference desk at your local library to find good sources. Librarians are trained to help you find credible sources, both online and offline.

5. Evaluate Your Sources
Searching online for credible sources can be quite challenging because anybody can publish a website and make any claim they wish. Consider who published the information and what they have to gain or lose by publication. Does it come from a credible source (such as a government or university website) or does it seem like the work of an individual or a questionable organization with an axe to grind? Check with your professor for specific guidelines; some may not mind students using Wikipedia, while most will forbid it. The more information you gather, the more you will be able to compare in terms of credibility and usefulness and the more you will have to say when it comes time to actually write the paper.

6. How to Use Citations
There are several key ways you can use citations to improve your research experience. For specific information on formatting citations, check style guides , or visit an automatic bibliography site (you enter the source information, and it provides you with properly formatted citations). Check out Guide to Online School's style guide resources. This may seem trivial, but using the proper format for citations is crucial; maintaining consistency helps people find your sources and is a hallmark of good academic writing. Within your paper, you will use in-text citations or footnotes, plus a separate bibliography or works cited page at the end. Further, many professors will not read a paper that is not written in the proper format. Ask your professor if they want the paper written in any specific style.

All of these suggestions boil down to three key points: Search thoroughly. Evaluate all of your sources. Cite any information you use.

Happy researching!

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Succeeding at Online Group Work

Many students dread group work, so why on earth do professors keep assigning it? Believe it or not, group work offers several educational advantages. Studies have shown that working in groups has significant benefits. In group work, students are more likely to retain information and gain a better understanding of the material. Furthermore, collaboration is exactly what the "real world" demands on a regular basis. There are almost no professions where a person works entirely independently.

So what are the concerns that students have about group work, and how can you ensure that your group works successfully, especially in an online class?

The major concern that students have is that one or more members of the group will not pull their weight. This can happen in a traditional classroom as easily as it can happen in an online group, leaving the more responsible students who complete their tasks feeling cheated, as well as anxious about their grades. Here are a few ways to ensure that this does not happen:

1. Choose a Leader
Designate one person in the group to be the leader. This person is responsible for ensuring that the group is able to communicate successfully. He or she can set up times for meetings and remind people of deadlines, as well as keeping records of key discussion points and group decisions.

2. Use Technology
Use technology to facilitate distance-based group work. This can be useful for busy on-campus students too. Your group leader can be the point person to arrange virtual meetings via group instant-message, video conference, or chat. Your online course may also have specific technology that your group can access, like limited-use forums or class blogs. You can also use technology simply to keep everyone up-to-date: email research or presentations to one another, or use the "track changes" feature in Microsoft Word to edit your work collectively.

3. Organize
Divide tasks equally, but don't just let everyone do their own thing. Each person should perform a task that suits his or her interests and strengths as much as possible, but the group should also include a peer review process to modify the project as necessary.

4. Stay Ahead of Schedule
Do not leave things until the last minute. Bring your group together well ahead of the deadline to evaluate your project jointly and conduct any necessary revisions.

5. Rise to the Challenge
If your group does wind up with the much-dreaded slacker (or worse yet, if you are the only person in your group who ever seems to do anything) make sure that you keep track of exactly what each group member does or does not do. Let the professor know who contributed and who did not, in a polite and professional way. Complete the project to the best of your ability, even if you feel that you are doing more than your share of the work. Believe it or not, this sometimes happens in real life too; it's not fair, but at least you will gain the knowledge and the grade that you deserve.

Article Resources

The George Lucas Educational Foundation

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Distance Learning and Plagiarism

Plagiarism is a serious offense and schools respond accordingly with suspensions, failing grades, and even expulsion. There is no reason not to include references in your papers if you understand how to properly cite sources.

• Give credit. If you did not come up with it, say who did. There are many ins and outs of copyright law, but basically, if you did not think of it on your own, you should make a note of your source.

• Cite. There are a variety of citation styles for medical, science, and English fields, so it is a good idea to verify which style you are meant to use. MLA and APA styles are the most common. However, it is a good idea to double check with your instructor.

• Use your own words. If you are not quoting a source, but you are also not expressing an original idea or conveying a common sentiment, you should still cite your source(s). Additionally, if you are expressing the ideas of someone else in your own voice, you need to acknowledge the source.

• Talk to your teacher. If all else fails, you can always consult with your instructor to find out whether a source should be cited. Once you get into the rhythm of writing, your judgment will become more refined and you will be able to recognize when it is appropriate to site your work.

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How Can an Academic Advisor Help Me?

Students often bring varied educational backgrounds to the schools that they attend. To ensure that all students are able to meet the standardized curriculum of the school or college, academic advising offices exist to help allay student concerns regarding their education and learning.

Academic advisors are professional counselors and experienced instructors who provide learning advice and instruction on how to make the most of a student`s academic career. Students that enter college without a clear academic path can benefit from academic advising by having counselors give them some direction into which academic program they should pursue.

Students with transfer credits should meet with advisors to determine which credits may or may not transfer, and also to determine what the remaining educational requirements for their degree program are. Advisors are aware that each student experiences education differently, and they are able to provide personalized assistance to help students succeed.

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The Benefit of Student Organizations

Most prospective students fail to realize that attending a school or college is more than just the classroom aspect of learning. Students can learn just as much, or even more, outside of the classroom by joining campus organizations or other student club associations at their school location. Oftentimes, by participating in a school club, students are able to meet and network with others to help setup study groups, support groups, and other connections that last well after graduation.

The range of available student groups is quite broad. Many subject-related groups exist, such as an accounting club or a business marketing club. These serve as good stepping points for students to learn more about their department, about specific career options available within the subject, and also to meet with people who may have similar trade interests. Outside of academic-based organizations, political, recreational, religious, hobby-oriented groups also exist. These associations typically help enhance the student experience by allowing students to meet with and establish strong relationships with others who have similar interests. This makes for a stronger affinity for the school program and greater personal development.

Almost all educational institutions have student organizations; to learn more about what type of groups are at your location, check with the student activities center or inquire at the school counseling office.

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