Guidelines for successful remote learning
BACKWatch this short video as a brief overview on the subject.
Listen to this articleYour learning environment
1. As far as possible, make sure your physical environment/workspace is as calm and free from distraction as possible. Make sure you are not disturbed by other people during the online class. Have a tidy desk or table with enough room for your laptop, notepaper, books, etc. Draw the curtains or shut the blinds if you find yourself staring out of the window.
2. Make sure your online environment is as calm as possible. Turn off your phone during online sessions, disconnect from social media, turn off your email accounts, and shut down any web pages which are not related to your class. In other words, close anything which may distract you during an online session.
Organizing your time
3. Plan and prioritize your daily tasks: Use your Outlook calendar or other scheduling software. Organize your work with flexibility and set yourself realistic and motivating learning goals.
4. Give yourself regular breaks – this will help you focus your attention and make your learning more effective.
Before a remote learning class
5. Be prepared. Before the session, know what the main learning objectives of the session are. Make sure you have done any pre-reading and made notes before the session.
During a remote learning class
6. Be an active learner during the session – take part in any in-class chats or exchanges. If you have a question, note it down to be ready to ask the teacher when you have the possibility.
7. Take notes during the session and then write them up again afterward.
8. If you are not sure about something, use the MS Teams chat or send an email to the teacher, asking your question.
9. Do not be too hard on yourself- if you find your attention wandering during a live session, take a 2-minute break and then focus back in.
Follow up to a remote learning class
10. Organize or rewrite the notes you took during the class.
11. Use your course books and online resources to take notes and supplement the online sessions.
Organizing remote teamwork and group projects
- Divide the project or work you have to do into smaller tasks (e.g. Deciding on topic, research, completing first draft, editing, final submission etc.)
- Plan backwards from the deadline and set milestones when each sub task will be completed. Take a project management approach, create a GANTT chart.
- Schedule regular team meetings, keep a record of the agreed action points (who will do what by when?)