Successfully Completing an Online Class

The general term for an online college classroom is called Blackboard. What's hard about online classes is having the discipline and willingness to learn and study on your own at home. The most important factor in successfully completing an online class is probably the hardest also, which is reading. Keeping up with reading will help with answering discussion questions and with completing exams. Because of the importance of reading, I came up with the acronym READ, which comprises of what to expect in an online class: R) Reading - Reading one chapter in a college text book can take up to 2 - 3 hours. This is hard considering the fact that there's other work that needs to be completed in daily life. But once an individual starts to read an assigned chapter, it's very important to always read each chapter to the end in one setting with 5-minute refresher breaks. A smart approach in reading a long chapter is to skip all the long side notes and stories. When one is through, he/she may choose to go back to the chapter on another time schedule and finally read the skipped side notes and stories while skimming and reviewing the chapter. E) Exam - By exam day, all this reading and reviewing will pay off because repetition is how we learn. Reading each chapter and going back at least once will make the student familiar with the chapters. As each exam question comes up, the student will know exactly where in the text book to find the answers, which will result in him or her getting an A. A) Assignments - Each instructor is different in terms of assignments. I've taken a few online classes over the last two years and surprisingly, I've only had one assignment over the course of completing my degree. Because due dates sneak up on you, it's best to finish assignments as soon as time will allow. D) Discussion - When a semester begins, it takes about 6 - 7 weeks to get comfortable and used to the rhythm of personal class schedules. Most of a student's online class time will be spent with weekly readings and discussions. For posting discussions, it's important to expect at least 1 - 2 hours of thinking and writing on the topic. This is your chance to express what and how you think about the discussion question and topics. Be bold to speak your mind and unafraid of possible controversy because that's what makes postings fun.