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Article Series: Online Degrees
Is An Online
Degree Program For Me?
Can
My Learning Style Affect My Online Degree Success?
YES. In the world of online schooling, your learning style can
definitely
affect your success in obtaining a degree.
Some students excel with an online study program, while others
benefit more from a traditional college. Here are some things
to think about when deciding if online schooling is right for
you.
Are
you able to maintain a study schedule on your own, or do
you need someone to enforce it? When studying online you
must be able to discipline yourself to studying regularly.
There are no assigned class schedules or teachers to help keep
you on track. You must be able to find and maintain study hours
without getting distracted. You will be responsible for your
own deadlines for turning in exams and assignments.
Do
you manage time well? You will need to be able to arrange
time for your schooling around everything else in your life
without the benefit of regular classes. This might mean having
time to attend any on campus study periods or labs, going to
the library to do research, or finding time to type your term
papers. Some schools require a minimum amount of logged hours
per course, which would have to be fit into your schedule.
You should not feel pressured about things you are not getting
done in school while going about the rest of your life, and
vice versa. You need to be able to differentiate between your
school time and your personal time. If you are running around
like crazy and not getting anything done then you will not
be very successful.
How
social are you? Is the day-to-day interaction with other
students a prime motivator for your education? Do you prefer
group projects to private study? Do you need face time with
the professor in order to understand the material? If so, then
online schooling might not be for you. Online students need
to be self-motivators, be able to work well alone, and be able
to glean most of their information from reading versus actual
lectures. You will often need to work independently from other
students. Information sharing is different as well, and you
will need to be comfortable with the use chat rooms or email
for exchange of ideas, instead of just face-to-face exchange.
Group projects with students who are thousands of miles away
present their own challenges, so you must be able to have patience
and understanding when working with other students. There is
also a good possibility that other students are not going to
be on the same work schedule as you, so finding a study group
may be difficult.
How
comfortable are you with your instructors? With online
study you will have more direct one-on-one communication with
your instructor than in a regular classroom, but it will not
be face to face. You must be able to accept direction from
your teacher, as well as be comfortable asking questions or
having personal conversations with them. You must have patience
and understanding that responses may not be instantaneous.
Where
and when do you learn best? Do you do your best work
at a desk in a classroom or with your feet up in the recliner
at home? Are you more able to focus on studies during the day
or the late hours of the night? If you prime learning time
is at 3 am and the prime place is your apartment sofa, then
you might get more out of an online degree. On the flipside,
if you are better at learning in a more focused environment
during the daytime a traditional college might be better for
you. The times of day that you have more drive and energy are
going to be better times to study than those where you are
completely worn out and unfocused.
How
do you learn best? Can you get the information that you
need from reading? Do you need to have items explained to you?
Are you better with a hands-on approach? Online course have
an extreme amount of reading and writing involved. There is
also no professor to immediately ask questions to. Most of
the time questions will need to be submitted via email or chat
and then you have to wait for a response.
Online course can be extremely effective if your style of
learning meshes with them. If it does not, you will be much
better off seeking an alternative route.
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by SolveYourProblem.com
: 2007
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