Study Skills and Tips
Let’s take a moment to think about how truly important it is to have good, solid study skills so you can be successful in whatever learning experience that you encounter. The online environment is convenient and flexible for learners. However, it is important to know that it is ever more critical to develop strong study skills in this virtual classroom because it is easy to fall behind. Some of the very same study skills and tips that you use in the face-to-face classroom, also apply to the online classroom, with the addition of some more useful strategies to support your online learning.
You’ve already read about time management in an earlier section of eLearning 101. It is also listed here because it is one of the key strategies to successful online learning*. Typically, online students are taking online courses because they have a busy schedule, (work, school, family, schedule conflicts), and most “activity” in the virtual classroom falls on nights and weekends. Use tips listed in the Time Management section to create a schedule for your online class. When you will work on assignments, readings, etc.
Study Tips and Strategies:
- Have a time management schedule
- Have a dedicated study area
- Get good sleep, eat healthy, and exercise
- Organize your study materials
- Apply/relate new information to information you already know
- Be an active reader, reading to understand
- Take organized notes
- Write drafts of papers
- Work problems
- Stay motivated
- Study for exams
Support Systems
- Log into your online class daily
- Participate in Study Groups or connect to other online classmates
- Ask questions
- Talk to your teachers (office hours are meant for this!)
- Don’t wait until the last minute to ask for help
- Seek Tutoring services (this can be face-to-face or online, i.e.: HSU Tutoring Services, Tutor.com
Additional Resources
- HSU Learning Center Study Skills
- 10 Effective Steps for Exam Preparation (Dartmouth College)
- Academic Success Videos from Dartmouth
* Roper, Alan R., How Students Develop Online Learning Skills, 2007.
Learning, Teaching, and Technology 