We asked current students who are taking a full course load this summer what advice they would give to incoming students and current students. Below are some of the tips and tricks that worked for them that can hopefully help everyone who will be beginning classes online this fall!
- Take the time to figure out the course layout and the plan for the semester early on. Get familiar with Brightspace (and any other tool used) early on.
- Be prepared to ask questions. Contact your professors / TAs as often as you need to. In a classroom setting you often benefit from the questions other students ask, even when you don’t realize it! Make sure you read the public Q&A with the prof if there is one, but if you need help / reassurance / clarification, don’t hesitate to ask for it. Make sure you are communicating early and often through the channels in the syllabus: live classes, Q&As, office hours, emails, discussion forums – wherever.
- Create a weekly / monthly schedule listing what you have to do – don’t just do it piece by piece. This will let you see your progress and make sure you don’t miss anything! Once you build that schedule, take it a week at a time – looking at everything you have to do can be overwhelming.
- Watch lectures / do assignments on schedule – it’s hard to catch up if you fall a bit behind. Work ahead, if you can.
- Sometimes online exams / quizzes / etc. don’t feel “real”. They are! Prepare for them just like you would for an in-person exam. Even if it’s open book / open notes, prepare and study. You won’t have time to search for what you need, you’ll need to know where it is.
- Find a way to do online what you would normally do in person: check with friends on how they approached a problem, study for exams with friends, etc. Be careful to avoid unauthorized collaboration, but knowing that others are doing things the same way you are is a real confidence booster! If in doubt, see #2.
- The strategy you use to manage your time and organize your work might not work in an online environment – especially if you don’t really have one! There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to managing your time, but look around and find one that works for you.
- Online classes are real classes! Sometimes I watch class recordings like I watch Netflix, and I remember them for about as long. Take notes, pause and rewind for parts you don’t understand, and don’t try to do too many things at once. And don’t binge watch a whole class – your attention will wander and you won’t learn.
- Build time off into your schedule. Easier to say than to do, but structuring breaks will make you more focused when you need to be focused.
- Give time to each class – because they are structured differently, some might be easier to neglect. They may not all take equal time, but don’t ignore any.
