August 2, 2016

BTS: What I Wish I Knew Before Taking Online Classes


Taking online classes in college


Hey Guys! We have finally entered the month of August which means we are officially in the Back-To-School season! Although I’m a little sad that summer is ending and school is starting again, I’m super excited to go school shopping! I love going back-to-school shopping because they are so many cute stuff to get, everything is new and it's just exciting to start another chapter of school.

In honor of the back-to-school season, I decided to start a mini-series on the blog to get everyone prepared for the upcoming school year! So stay tuned for more blog posts relating to this series.

To kick off the series, I’m giving you guys a few insights on what you should expect when taking an online class. I took my first online class last fall and I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I'll be happy to let you know what I did wrong, so you can avoid making the same mistakes. Online classes are usually convenient for students who work and go to school or parents who have other obligations outside of the classroom. Having classes online has its perks, but you also have to be prepared for what comes along with those perks.
I have made some mistakes when taking online classes so you don't have to. Here's what I wish I knew before taking an online class:

It's NOT as easy as you might think
So many people (me included) take online classes because they think it's the easy route. WRONG! If anything, it's one of the more challenging routes to take. The freedom that comes along with online classes is nice to have, but If you don't know how to discipline yourself, then you are in for a treat. By treat I mean hell. Trust me I have been there. 

You should know your learning style?
Some of us learn better when they're in a classroom setting and there's someone lecturing in front of them, while others like having written information instead of lectures. Knowing what your learning style is will dictate whether or not online learning is right for you. I discovered that I would much rather have someone teaching in front of me instead of staring at a screen. This may sound boring to others, to be honest it's sometimes boring to me too but this is why it is important that you know what learning style helps you retain information easily. 

On a scale of I'm doomed to I know how to adult, how bad is your procrastination?
With the flexibility that comes along with online classes, it is quite easy to let yourself go and miss a few... a bunch... or even most of your deadlines. One of the many mistakes I made when I took my first online class was not setting time aside to study. I just didn't treat the course like a typical classroom setting class which was a really bad idea. Online classes require you to spend just as much time studying for them as the classroom setting does. 

You can't just take any class online
This is the one thing I didn't screw up on when taking my online classes. I know there are courses that are more challenging to me than others, so I decided not to take them online. If you know that you tend to struggle a little more with science classes than any other class, it's probably not a good idea to take those classes online. It's harder to get quality one-on-one time with online professors so you might not be able to get much extra help if you are struggling to understand something. 

I hope this was helpful! Stay tuned for more back-to-school blog posts!

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10 comments:

  1. I love this! I wish that I had known more about online classes before I started taking them! I actually love taking online classes now, but I've definitely taken a few that I hated.
    Through trial and error I've found what works for me and what doesn't. I love to take classes like math or coding that are more concept-based online, because I can work at my own pace and spend as much or as little time as I need on each section. However, classes that are more fact-based, like history classes, are classes that I'd rather take in person because you just have to watch a ton of lectures anyway.
    Like most things in college, it's all about figuring out what works for you, because everyone is different!
    Thanks for sharing your great advice!
    -Kym, hellokymberlyann.com

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    1. It's the total opposite for me! I could never take a math class online. I need a physical person in my presence to teach me everything but I wouldn't mind taking a history class online haha. This is exactly why everyone should know what learning style works best for them.
      Thanks for stopping by!

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  2. I love this! I made the mistake of taking an online class and thinking it would be a breeze... it so wasn't! I feel like motivation and time management are so important for taking online classes because you're the only on who can make you do the work.

    Alysha | Study Break Down

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    1. Exactly! It's really hard to survive an online class if you don't know how to manage your time effectively.

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  3. Ugh, I wish I read this last semester! I ended up taking on an online class, not realizing what it entailed and dropping it within a week. Ethics and deep philosophy is definitely not a class I'm ever taking online again haha

    paige • eyeliner wings & pretty things

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    1. haha at least now you know the type of classes you can't take online.

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  4. Hahaha this is a funny post. I always worried about online courses, but I found out that many of the classes I did take in college COULD HAVE been virtual because the professors in the large discussion halls (200+ people) would always post everything online, and provide all the info there! xx Adaleta Avdic

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    1. wow that's a lot of people! You could have totally taken those online.

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  5. Another thing that's good to know in advance is whether or not you have to go to a testing center for the exams! That can definitely be an inconvenience to some people and it's not really something you think about while registering for classes.

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