How can you prevent online learning problems?

Remember to keep your helpful tech phone numbers handy. If you are working with your school, school district or a curriculum provider, they can help you solve problems as they arise. Don’t hesitate to seek help. You don’t want issues to cause you to fall behind because that is discouraging. Keep your momentum strong by seeking help as soon as possible.

Double checking the compatibility of the AV / computer system is important to be respectful of people’s times. Also making sure that the person presenting whether using slides or just verbal, has really well lit area they are performing this in so that the targeted audience can see the material, or the person who is presenting the material.

For students with limited literacy skill, a community center or local library providing free internet access, free tutoring, might encourage the underachievers to try.

I believe students learn best when they access content multi-modally. The Universal Design for Learning allows students to engage with the learning material in a variety of ways which means that students have autonomy in how they learn. Learning online can help people take ownership over their own learning and encourages them to create a system for themselves that ensures meeting goals. Some strategies: accessing simple online systems to gain materials, making records of information without an Internet connection (screenshots for later review, or writing down summary points), using an audiobook; watching analyses videos, reading criticisms, asking questions that are important and further understanding, and asking for feedback from others.

During the pandemic, I taught my college students online-only courses; two years' worth. Some of the tips we came up with together included turning video off, shutting down unnecessary apps, and using the virtual hand-up for questions, so as not to overwhelm underpowered computers or max out our bandwith. I'd like to add two more thoughts: First, it's good to have a backup plan--phone or tablet, if available. Second, with all stakeholders buy-in, recording classes so they could be viewed or reviewed.

Put your phone to the side and silence notifications so you don't become distracted when someone comments on your Facebook feed or sends you a snap chat. Map out your large assignments/ papers by looking at your class syllabi. Prevent procrastination by doing a little each week on large papers or projects.

Avoiding distractions is also helpful. Taking a second to check a Whatsapp message or other social media could make one end up abandoning real learning. Setting up a time to learn should primarily be for that purpose.

One thing I have found helpful is to keep remember why I am doing this. The “why” can help you not procrastinate and also keep you engaged emotionally on what you are about to do.

In my experience, setting up a goal could be a powerful way of motivating yourself to complete what you started. By creating a goal, you can create an envioremente and routine of achievement.

Utilize discussion boards, collaborative boards, such as padlet, or video discussion platforms like Flipgrid to add a personal touch to student engagement and conversations.

It's also important to make recognitions for a job well done as well as improvements. Leaderboards and project checklists or rubrics with game points helps to gamify and and interest to your course. Finally, having quick check-ins with your teams to deal with misunderstanding or tweak systems or discipline where needed are equally important to Sharpening the saw.

Expect the wonderful from your instructors—for a grad degree online anyway. And prepare to be amazed by their personal experience commingling with pedagogical expertise. This FT pro writer and hubby/daddy—writing papers after 10 pm every night—was chummily surprised to discover this instructor dynamic, which continued class to class for my MA in military studies ‘92-94. Email dialogues for the coursework as well as the graded papers revealed that my instructors were all FT day-job experts in their fields. One of the most memorable was deep in the Intelligence Community. Spook by day, she was. Prof by night. The chats accompany me still, for the encouragements given, foremost re my writing capability. Which has turned out okay so far ;)

Closely related to eye strain yet less talked about is ear strain—another potential physical hazard in online learning if we’re not careful. That is, choosing or having to wear AirPods or some other form of earbuds for great lengths of time can strain the ears to the point of incubating bacteria straight into an ear infection. Ears need to breathe, to sum, so we must give them the chance: take one or both pods/buds out hourly if not more frequently. I’ve known that instinctively, as one whose ears quickly chafe at bearing up under such devices (even headphones) for too long. But I didn’t know how bad it can get until I read an NBC Chicago article on growing ear-infection cases due to this (*gross*)…let those who have ears to hear, hear.

Create a study or classroom environment at home* Having a study environment at home is very important in engaging a successful online learning program. Ensure that before you start your course, set up a corner at home free of noise, distraction from family members and poor lighting. Install a very good office chair and table through which you will maintain a good posture with the computer screen at eye level while you learn. Finally, take a regular 10minutes break after every 45minutes of learning away from the screen and walk around. If possible close your eyes for about 3minutes to avoid straining them as it may cause headache.

Contributing not once but twice in this article (unusual for what it’s worth, for this grateful, loves-what-he-does writer-editor here), I can’t help but go yet one more—one touch-and-go comment on AI in this article. But as LI’s character constraint on these digital “Thoughts?” Post-It Note blocks is strong arming me from where I wish to briefly go with this… …I’m making like a drop ship in the badass flick Aliens and transporting my content over to the world of my LI wall, for a lengthier post befitting this organically grown, humanly (made) possible, splendidly character-flawed piece of writing that someone may need to hear. Because we’re all in this together. Us against the machines, haha. Minus the rage (sorry, Zach de la Rocha).