Ready to Be an Online Student? Part 1

Whether you want to attend school from home enjoying the fluffiness of your pajamas, nurture your baby while you study or immediately head to work after your classes, online education is providing the solution for each situation. However, the question is: are you ready to be an online learner? Let’s see some tips that might trigger (or not) the distance learning student within you.

1. The appropriate personality for online education; do you consider yourself an outgoing social person who loves to spend his/her time around people or you cherish more your personal space than opening it toward your friends? Even the online learning environment offers certain opportunities for students to gather through social media – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and many more- the “face-to-face” component is not accessible.

As well, another thing you should consider is the level of your self-motivation. In case you are not the kind of person who sets and precisely follows his/her goals and needs encouragements from others, pursuing online education might be a little daunting.

2. The appropriate communication and assimilating skills; think about whether you prefer hearing an instructor explain the info and then ask your questions in real time or you are content only with reading the info and then submit your inquiries via email. Are you familiar with all the virtual forms of communications: video chat, email, conferences and many more? Would you feel comfortable using them?

Imagine that most of the content in an online course is written allowing students to understand directions for assignments on their own. Would that be a problem for you?

3. The appropriate internet connection; you cannot opt for online education unless you have a strong internet connection and access it regularly. It is highly important that your service exceeds the basic dial- up. Also, highly important is to have a back-up plan in case you might get disconnected. Would a friend help you by giving you access to his/ her computer? As long as you have a back-up plan, you can continue your online classes without interruption.

Before submitting your application for an online program, you need to inform yourself about the tasks you will have to perform. Most of the universities and colleges display a list of skills needed to succeed in online classes. Definitely, your institution of choice will aid you with a similar list.

Stay tuned for more tips on how to check if you are ready to be an online student.