While many college students are familiar with the unique challenges in online coursework, the COVID 19 pandemic has compelled all students to adjust quickly to very new and different learning conditions. Remote learning can have an effect on how you motivate yourself, how you manage your time, and how you study and take exams. Review the other sections of the Study Your Way to Success portal for specific strategies on these topics, then scroll through this section for tips and strategies to address challenges you may experience as you adjust to learning remotely.
STUDY YOUR WAY TO SUCCESS MENU
Communication is Key
When studying remotely, communication with professors, advisors, and other helpful people becomes more important than ever – and sometimes more challenging. As you review your course syllabi and plan your work in Brightspace, you’ll likely have lots of questions. Without regular interactions in class with your professors and other students, it can sometimes take a little more time and effort to get answers. Effective communication is critical to staying on top of things — and it may require patience, a little advanced planning, and some strategic thinking.
Explore the links below for tips on communicating effectively in your online courses.
Stay Motivated
Some students find it more difficult to motivate themselves when studying remotely. Feeling isolated from other students, detached from professors, challenged for time and space — lots of things can serve to demotivate you if you let them. There is a lot you can do to motivate yourself in general (see the section on Motivation, Procrastination and Distraction for many great tips). Here, though, are some tips that are especially useful for motivating yourself for online studies.
Follow the links below for tips on staying motivated when studying remotely.
Manage Your Time Carefully
When studying remotely, planning and time management becomes even more important. Whereas studying on campus provides at least some structure (classes are scheduled at the same time and place from day to day, for example), remote learning can sometimes feel entirely unstructured. Classes may not meet regularly (or at all), study space may be harder to find, and the everyday reminders (like talking with friends about when assignments or exams are due) may be less common. Having a good planning process and sticking with it is absolutely necessary to getting your work done.
Follow the links below to read about additional time management strategies for online learning.
Create an Effective Study Space
Finding a suitable study space is always a challenge. When it comes to creating a study space at home, one strategy does not fit all. You may live alone, with a large family, with roommates, in a big house, a small apartment, on a farm, in a city – you get the idea. Even if you are free to go to a local library or a cafe, you may face extra challenges. In remote learning, planning how to make the best use of space and technology is just as important as planning time.
Follow the links below for tips on creating study spaces that work wherever you work.
Check Your Tech
Before you even register for a class, you’ll need to consider your tech needs. Do you have the technology the course will require? Are there tech tools that will make it easier to get organized, or read, or stay focused? Where can you get help if you need?
Follow the links below for planning strategies and connections to helpful URI resources.
Taking Online Exams
As a college student, you may already have a lot of experience in taking computer-based exams. Taking tests is challenging under any conditions (see the Test Prep and Test Taking section of the Study Your Way to Success Portal for many great tips). But taking online exams as part of remote learning can present its own challenges and require its own strategies.
Follow the links below for remote testing-specific strategies.