Improve your skills
What it means to learn online:
Most people's experience of learning is in a classroom (of a school, college or evening class). The teacher is there to give guidance and direction on what to do. Activities include reading books, taking notes, answering questions and working with other people.
Online learning is completely different. All the direction is provided by the course materials. Activities such as reading, note taking and answering questions mostly take place at the computer. Working with other people is done using email, conferencing and other electronic tools.
So we need a new set of skills for online learning. These include:
- Running software and manipulating windows;
- Reading and taking notes from the computer screen;
- Managing computer files and formats;
- Navigating the online course;
- Managing your time online;
- Communicating with other learners through email, conferencing, etc
Just as learning how to study in the classroom takes several years to develop, so too learning to learn online takes time. You should expect to experiment with different approaches and think about what works best for you.
To help you develop the skills for online learning why not try the Open University Open Learn course Learning Online