3 Tips to Succeed in Online Education

The students here at CSU Global are diverse. Some of us are older adults that never had the opportunity for a traditional college education, and some are younger, like myself, unable to invest in the traditional education system for one reason or another. All of us are here for the same purpose, though: to broaden our minds, sharpen our skills, and gain new tools to move us forward in our life.

Online education is not easy; it requires dedication and planning to assure you can put your full, concentrated effort into it.  Today I’d like to talk about three things that help me to succeed.  I hope that they can help you, too.

1)  Calendars

The first thing I find incredibly useful is calendars. The beauty of technology is that most any device has a calendar program attached to it, whether it is your personal computer or your smartphone.  In fact, you’ll see one by simply logging in to your CSU Global email account. Using these calendars is a great way to set aside your study times and plot out your commitments every week. They are also a great way to keep track of your progress, which ties into my next suggestion.

2) Checklists

A major issue I had when first enrolling in online college was measuring my progress. When you develop a checklist that you can refer to, it helps you in your weekly planning and will help you track your progress. This is a helpful tool, especially when considering portfolio projects, which generally have milestone points throughout an 8-week course. When you set goals and visually track them, you actually see the work you are completing. This only helps you in the long run.

Imagine the milestones as checkpoints: a great time to measure your progress, and plan your next steps.

3) Focus

One of the greatest issues we face is distraction, especially during peak times like football season, political debates, and the holidays. A key to ensuring you have the time to enjoy these things while attending school online is to use your time wisely. Everybody needs what I call a “sacred” place: a quiet, isolated area in which you can escape distractions. For me, that’s my computer room. I can shut the door, there is no TV to steal my attention, and I silence my cell phone notifications. I dedicate time to my readings, to my discussion posts, and to my weekly assignments and final exam. I may have something on in the background, such as music, but it has to be something that can passively fill the silence and not really steal my attention.

These are just a few things that you can do to better achieve educational success. Online education can be difficult, because all of the discipline lies with you. You have to make the effort to log on and participate in class, you have to plan and utilize tools to not only organize your week but to track your progress.  And, of course, you have to not only set your disciplinary standards, but enforce them as well.

The more you put these suggestions to use, and evolve them to fit your individual needs and goals, the better your schooling experience will be.