How Can Students Receive Instructors’ Help Online?

If you’ve never attended an online school, you may have questions. How do the classes work? Will you be able to interact with your classmates? Do you have to be present for lectures at specific times, or can you set your own schedule?

However, one of the top questions we often hear: How do you reach out to instructors for help? Maintaining a dialogue between yourself and your professor helps you to gain understanding, build rapport, and maximize your learning experience.

Discussion Boards Have More Than One Use
A popular way for instructors and students to interact with each other is through discussion boards. If you have any pertinent questions for your instructor, the discussion board is a great tool to open up the conversation.

Know Your Instructors’ Email Addresses and Office Hours
It can feel intimidating to ask questions at times, or you may worry that you aren’t asking the “right” questions. However, your instructors want to answer questions and facilitate learning. At CSU Global, we use the Schoology platform to provide instructor information. There, you’ll find your instructors’ email addresses, phone numbers, and office hours.

When reaching out to your instructors, be sure to use a professional tone. If you have multiple questions, try using bullet points to separate them out. That way, your instructors can clearly see what you need help with and can more easily help you.

The Only Bad Question Is One You Don’t Ask

If you run into difficulty understanding an assignment, never hesitate to reach out to your instructors and ask for clarification. Your instructors want you to learn the material — they don’t want to watch you struggle if you don’t understand a project or reading assignment.

Receiving help from instructors doesn’t have to be challenging, nor should you feel inadequate for asking for help. When you take the time to slow down and ask questions to fully understand a project or assignment, you’re not just tackling the issue at hand, you’re making yourself a better student.