There are many different reasons you may find yourself transitioning from a traditional classroom environment to online learning. Whether this was a choice of your own or the result of a global pandemic, there are a few tricks to being a successful online student. With a little help, you can make the necessary adjustments to help you along the way during this time.
Initially, you may be confused, unsure, or just unfamiliar with the online curriculum. These are understandable and very common concerns, but online learning can be a convenient option for students.
Whether you are currently an online student or interested in becoming an online student, with just a few important strategies, you can have a successful learning experience. These include: time management, managing stress, balancing family life and utilizing your resources.
Why is time management important for online learning?
In a traditional classroom environment, you usually have a scheduled time to report to class. In an online environment, you have to plan your own time. For example, you may be given one week to complete a set amount of assignments, quizzes, and homework. You would have the freedom to work on the assignments at the time you choose, as long as you turn in your assignments by the due date.
This means that you would have to be more independent with regards to your time management, and proactive with your learning. In the classroom, your Instructor is usually present to answer any questions you may have about the lesson, and you can get feedback in real time. As an online student, you won’t have your teacher there in person, but you will have your instructor’s information to contact them via email or through the online program you use to complete your classwork. However, online Instructors are usually quick to respond, and usually do so within 24 hours. Additionally, many Instructors have ‘Virtual Office Hours’ where you can make an appointment to speak to them one on one if you need help.
How does this all relate to time management? Since online learning is more of an independent learning experience, the best way to ensure you have enough time in between family, children, and work is to create a time slot dedicated to online school. Depending on your family dynamics, you may need to find an area in your home where you can focus on your work without any distractions. If you have small children, this may be difficult to do, but this is where you may need to get creative. If your children take naps, use that time to catch up on school work. You can give them busy work such as online learning websites, reading material, arts and crafts. If you have family members that can help with child care for a set number of hours while you study, ask them for help.
While family, work, and children are all important priorities in our lives, school is just as important because it’s your key to a stable career. Making time for your future is one of the best investments you can make.
You may need to carve out time slots for yourself to study, such as later in the night when everyone is asleep, or early in the morning before they wake up. The way you make time is dependent on your home situation. You can also create a daily routine where you have a schedule for you, your family, or children that you use faithfully for example; breakfast at 8 am, chores at 9 am, school work from 10 am to 1 pm, and lunch from 1 pm to 2 pm. You can post this schedule in your household and talk to your family members about following it. This creates consistency and before you know it, you’re one step closer to your dreams!
How to manage stress as an online student?
When you transition to online learning, you may find yourself stressed from the fact that it’s a new experience. Online learning may come easy to some, but for others it may require adjusting. While online learning offers many benefits to students, it may be challenging to manage having to go to school and attend to family matters in the same space. Luckily, you can effectively manage this stress with just a few simple methods. Many students have found that meditation can really change their outlook and offer mental peace.
Take some time in the morning in a quiet space to sit and clear your mind. Speak of positive affirmations and things you are grateful for. Practicing this for just a few minutes will set the tone for the rest of your day. Post meditation, you will notice that you feel uplifted, recentered, and ready for anything that comes your way. If you make these few minutes part of your daily routine, you will feel immense benefits over time, and you will increase your capacity to handle challenges in life.
Another great way to reduce stress as an online student is to get those legs moving. Taking a walk, even if it’s for 10 minutes, can reduce stress incredibly. Since there is currently a government mandated quarantine, you may or may not be able to do this. If you have a backyard, spending some time in the sun and exercising outdoors can be a convenient and safe way to incorporate physical activity into your routine. You can even ask your children to join in to help break up their routine and tackle their boredom. If you can’t go for a walk, and the weather is not good outside, you may be able to do some yoga inside. On YouTube, you can find many yoga classes offered for free. If you’re feeling tired, even some deep breathing will help. With physical activity, you can increase blood flow and heart health, as well as manage stress.
In addition to physical activity, it is very important to eat a healthy diet. The food you intake can have an effect on productivity as well as your general mood. Maintaining a healthy diet is not only great for your body, but helps with depression, anxiety, as well as stress. If you feel good physically, then you can better focus on school as well as other priorities.
How can I communicate with others while social distancing?
Communication with others, and sharing your thoughts and feelings, is a natural human need. In a time of social isolation, it’s especially important to reach out to friends, family members, or classmates for any sort of connection. Even casual conversations with others help with stress management. Being able to talk to someone during a stressful time, and learning that others are going through the same experiences, can offer a sense of relief. Since we are at home with our families, we can first turn to our household members for connection.
If you have a spouse or a loved one, talk with them about your worries, your needs and concerns. If you don’t communicate these feelings, you may become overwhelmed. Although we would love to connect more with those nearest to us, humans are social creatures and we also need to connect with those outside our household. We get new energy and ideas from talking with others.
During social distancing, safe and healthy ways to communicate include talking on the phone, emailing, texting, FaceTime, and Zoom calls. Zoom may offer us the next best thing to face to face communication, since it offers a way to see each others’ faces, send chats privately or to the group, share our screens, and even react with emojis.
If you take classes online, your classmates become an important support network, even if you can only talk with them virtually, by phone or email. To increase the community feeling at our campus, Healthcare Career College offers Zoom chats on Thursdays at 2:30 pm for all students who would like to talk about their experiences or have any questions. This is a great way to talk with other students who may be going through the same things you are. If you meet someone you would like to talk further with, ask for that classmate’s email or phone number so you can have someone to reach out to for advice or just to talk about something.
With their classmates and Instructors, online students gain an important support network to help them build a successful future. With this kind of network, there’s no reason to feel alone as an online student. Remember that there is a solution to any challenge that you may face, and reaching out to others may give you ideas that you hadn’t thought about before. Having these resources adds to your successful journey as a student and successful outcome in your career!
How can I balance family life while being an online student?
There are many types of students that study online, from younger to older students, and single parents to family caregivers. First and foremost, although online school may add more responsibilities to your busy life, it’s a worthwhile investment in your future. Balancing family life on top of work or school can be at times overwhelming, but with some help you can accomplish school one step at a time.
As the world deals with the COVID-19 outbreak and California continues to quarantine, parents are given the added responsibility of homeschooling their children. This can seem almost impossible for some families, but we adjust our lives as events progress. There are a few tricks you can apply to your home routine that will assist with our new reality.
The first step in balancing your family life with school is to create a routine. A routine is pretty much a schedule that you follow everyday. Since children do well with consistency, it’s best to not deviate from your normal routine. Try your best to apply the schedule you create faithfully. If you are consistent, your family will know what to expect daily and you will have the ability to fit in time for school work. The schedule you create is dependent on your family’s home habits and what works best for you. If you work in the day, you’ll have time in the evening to schedule dinner, bath time, and bedtime. Be mindful of the time you have throughout the day. Make every minute count. You never know you may have more time in your day than you realized.
Some days may be easier than others. It’s important you are not too hard on yourself. During this time you’ll want to be open and flexible. Everyday will have a new challenge, but keeping a positive attitude and practicing time management, stress management, and creating a consistent routine will make this difficult time go by smoothly. In fact, you may find that online learning may even be a better option for you.
Family is such an important part of our lives, so being able to attend school while at home may give you more time to enjoy your loved ones. You can even incorporate your healthcare knowledge into your children’s home schooling. One idea can be to teach your children proper hand washing skills. Inform them about the COVID-19 virus and ways it can be transmitted. Use this time to not only educate yourself, but your family. Healthcare workers are needed more than ever today, and they may become the next generation of healthcare workers to emerge in the future. Use this time at home to read, study, and practice your hands-on skills. Since healthcare requires a hands-on skill portion, you can practice your soft skills as well as patient positioning with your family as “pretend” patients. Get creative and create an at-home sanctuary for you and your family.
How can I succeed in online classes?
There are resources given to you by your instructors, classmates, and your loved ones. Utilize them and practice time management, stress management, and create a routine that works best for you and your family. If you’ve never experienced online learning, keep an open mind it may become your new preference of education. Healthcare Career College goes above and beyond to supply their students with the tools and communicative resources to succeed.
Make sure to communicate any questions or concerns you may have to alleviate any looming anxiety that online learning may create for you. Educate your family using accurate and factual information to best protect yourselves during this quarantine. Your future is just as important now as it ever will be. Focus on why you became a healthcare worker and who it will help in the future. We are in this together.
Want to start your career in a fast-growing medical career? Visit us at Healthcare Career College in Paramount, CA or contact us at https://healthcarecareercollege.edu/contact. We can help you find the rewarding career you’ve been dreaming about.