what makes a successful online course?

by Raven Kreiger 9 min read

How to be successful in an online course?

Here are seven tips to help you stay successful once you are in an online course. 1. Have Correct Expectations Contrary to popular believe, online courses are typically not “blow-off” classes. They usually have very similar academic rigor to their face-to-face counterparts.

What are the benefits of taking an online course?

With an online course, all of your time is spent outside of the classroom. Therefore, it’s even more important that you have a good place to do your work. Find a quiet place with a good internet connection, access to power, and freedom from distraction.

What are the qualities of successful online students?

In order to thrive in an online learning environment, students must have certain traits and habits. The following are examples of the qualities that successful online students possess. Ability to work independently.

What makes the best online classes?

Sense of Community. The best online classes are created with community in mind. Students are welcomed into the course and feel free to interact with the instructor and their peers in a friendly atmosphere.

What are the qualities of a good online course?

A good online course is engaging and challenging. It invites students to participate, motivates them to contribute and captures their interest and attention. It capitalizes on the joy of learning and challenges students to enhance their skills, abilities and knowledge. A good online course is cognitively challenging.

How do you create a successful online course?

5 Tips for Designing Effective Online Courses in 2022Know Your Audience. ... Create Well-Organized Courses / Micro-Learning. ... Make Your Lessons Interactive. ... Incorporate Synchronous and Asynchronous e-Learning Styles. ... Make Content Accessible.

What are the 5 tips to be successful in online learning?

5 Tips to Succeed in Online LearningDevelop a Schedule. Commit to making your online coursework part of your weekly routine. ... Set Specific Goals. Create daily goals and set reminders for yourself to complete tasks within specific windows of time.Get Connected. ... Create a Designated Study Space. ... Stay healthy.

What is a successful course?

Success Course Definition. Success courses are designed to help undergraduate students make successful transitions from a previous level of education, or experience (e.g., the military), into the University, from undeclared status into a major, and/or from undergraduate studies to graduate studies or careers.

How can I make my course better?

6 tips to make your online courses even betterGeneral and specific goals. Have you ever watched a movie just to get to the end and ask yourself why you wasted hours of your life with that? ... Correct use of resources. ... Relevant and targeted content. ... Communication logic. ... Call to action. ... Instructional Design.

What makes an online course good?

A good online course is engaging and challenging. It invites students to participate, motivates them to contribute and captures their interest and attention. It capitalizes on the joy of learning and challenges students to enhance their skills, abilities and knowledge. A good online course is cognitively challenging.

Why is online learning important?

A good online course promotes student agency. It gives students autonomy to enable opportunities for relevant and meaningful learning. Such a course redistributes power - to the extent that is possible - in the classroom. Again, this may take many forms in the online classroom.

What does "online course" mean?

It means audiovisual materials that don’t stereotype, shame or degrade people. It may mean that open educational resources are prioritized over expensive textbooks. A good online course is interactive. Courses are much more than placeholders for students to access information.

What are the problems with media comparison studies?

The problems with media comparison studies — that is, those that compare outcomes between one medium, such as face-to-face, to another medium, such as online — are such that many researchers advocate against them. How can students who enrol in online courses in the fall know they are receiving a good educational ...

What is accounting course?

In an accounting course, students could analyze the financial statements of a company they’re interested in rather than one selected by the instructor. Such flexibility not only accommodates students’ backgrounds and interests, it provides space for students to make the course their own.

What is creative writing class?

In a creative writing class, students may write a short story, receive feedback, revise it and then write a different story. In a computer programming class, they may write a block of code, test it and then use it in a larger program that they wrote.

Is online teaching the primary mode of education?

With very few exceptions, online teaching and learning will be the primary mode of education for the majority of higher education students in many jurisdictions this fall as concerns about COVID-19 extend into the new school year.

1. Integrate video creation and sharing with your LMS

One of the keys to training faculty to create quality online course videos is to start with a video platform that is easy to use.

2. Create videos for online courses

With the right strategies, instructors can interact with online students, pay attention to their questions, and give personalized feedback, all while measuring participation and comprehension.

3. Encourage faculty to create accessible course materials

In their fourth year with an accessibility awareness committee, the University of South Carolina Upstate had a significant challenge – to make sure all of the user community is educated about the need for captions, and to encourage faculty to generate them when they create recordings.

4. Get data to share effective online teaching practices

Winner of an Aspen Prize Rising Star Award based on student engagement, retention, and performance, administrators at Odessa College carefully monitor success rates, but not just of students. They monitor success rates of faculty as well.

5. Engage the reluctant online learner

After ten years of teaching online and face-to-face classes, Tracie Lee hit a trifecta of hurdles – teaching online Introductory Business Statistics.

6. Encourage reluctant faculty to create quality course videos

Training faculty to create quality online courses can be challenging. It can involve overcoming barriers in technology, workflow, student-instructor relationships, and mindset. Here are some tactics from other colleges on how they encourage faculty to begin creating course videos.

7. Create mobile videos for effective, in-the-moment instruction

Instructors at Aims Community College needed a way to create valuable, in-the-moment video lessons for students, beyond traditional lecture capture. After adopting software-based TechSmith Knowmia, faculty jumped at the chance to create engaging video lessons from any location, at any time.

What is the key to success in online learning?

1. Persistence . Persistence is perhaps the biggest key to success in online learning. Students who succeed are those who are willing to tolerate technical problems, seek help when needed, work daily on every class, and persist through challenges. When you run into a challenge, keep trying and ask for help.

What are the skills needed to be a good online student?

Reading and Writing Skills. Reading and writing are the main ways you'll communicate in an online class. Although some hard copies of textbooks might be required, you should be comfortable reading a lot of documents on a computer screen and able to type.

Why is communication important in online learning?

Communication skills are vital in online learning because students must seek help when they need it. Teachers are willing to help students, but they are unable to pick up on non-verbal cues, such as a look of confusion on a student's face. Follow these tips:

What is the best way to study for academic success?

A Good Study Environment. Another critical component of academic success is a good study environment. Get some peace and quiet. You will need a quiet place to work without distractions from things like television, family, or roommates.

Why do we work hard in school?

There are many worthwhile reasons to work hard in school. You might want a greater level of personal satisfaction with your future career. Or perhaps it's personal pride in your accomplishments. Or maybe you are seeking a wider range of opportunities available to you with higher education or a higher income. 7.

How to develop time management skills?

Once you do, they will benefit you throughout your life. Follow the tips below to develop yours: Review the syllabus for each of your courses. Develop a long-term plan for completing your major assignments. Make a daily "To Do" list.

Is online learning as good as traditional classroom learning?

Online learning can sound so wonderful that some students start with an unrealistic vision. In reality, online courses require just as much, if not more, time and energy as traditional classroom courses. It also requires specific computer skills and learning strategies in order to succeed.

Why should an eLearning course incorporate the best practices of training and development?

Your successful eLearning course should incorporate the best practices of training and development so your learners can find and create meaning in every aspect of their jobs. After all, you hired someone because their experience and skill set was exciting to you.

Is training boring or hard?

Many of these are negative: that training is boring, or hard, or useless. So while the material should be relevant and engaging, you also want to account for the tone: fill the course with encouraging language that fosters genuine realization and helps the learner feel fulfilled, satisfied, and enlightened.

Why do you need to take an online course?

Taking an online course gives you a lot of flexibility in where and when you do your coursework. That flexibility, however, means you have to take some extra steps to be successful. You have to be proactive about creating some of the structure you get naturally in a face-to-face course. Here are seven tips to help you stay successful once you are ...

How to ensure your computer is working?

Ensure your computer is working well, install any needed software, and verify your browser is up-to-date. If the course will use special tools, test them out early to ensure they work on your system so you can focus your attention on course materials and not be distracted by technology problems.

Is online class blow off?

Contrary to popular believe, online courses are typically not “blow-off” classes. They usually have very similar academic rigor to their face-to-face counterparts. Also, many online courses take a full-semester’s worth of content and offer it in half of that time, doubling the pace of the course. Approach your online course with this in mind so that you are not caught off-guard and fall behind.

Is online class isolating?

The online space need not be an isolating one. It’s true that your instructor lacks seeing your body language in class to get a sense of whether you might be struggling. Your instructor is still there to help you, though, even if you never meet him or her in person. In fact, many students in post-course surveys at Illinois report their instructor as being equally or even more available than in face-to-face courses.

How to be successful in online learning?

Be able to complete assignments on time. Enjoy communicating in writing. The online learning process is normally accelerated and requires commitment on the student’s part. Staying up with the class and completing all work on time is vital. Once a student gets behind, it is almost impossible to catch up.

What are the qualities of an online student?

In general, the online student should possess the following qualities: Be open minded about sharing life, work, and educational experiences as part of the learning process. Introverts as well as extroverts find that the online process requires them to utilize their experiences.

How many days a week do you have to be in a virtual classroom?

This should be made known. An online student is expected to: Participate in the virtual classroom 5-7 days a week.

What is the learning process?

The learning process requires the student to make decisions based on facts as well as experience. Assimilating information and executing the right decisions requires critical thought; case analysis does this very effectively. Have practically unlimited access to a computer and Internet Service.

Is online schooling easier than traditional schooling?

Online is not easier than the traditional educational process. In fact, many students will say it requires much more time and commitment. Be able to meet the minimum requirements for the program. The requirements for online are no less than that of any other quality educational program.

Will virtual classrooms go away?

The traditional school will never go away, but the virtual classroom is a significant player in today’s educational community. Corporations are using the online model to train technical professionals while private and public universities redefine the world as their markets. The market for students is expanding rapidly.

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Persistence

  • Persistence is perhaps the biggest key to success in online learning. Students who succeed are those who are willing to tolerate technical problems, seek help when needed, work daily on every class, and persist through challenges. 1. When you run into a challenge, keep trying and ask for help. 2. Set up a manageable study schedule for yourself and ...
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Effective Time-Management Skills

  • You must be able to manage your time well. Most courses are not taught in real time. There are no set times for classes. This flexibility is one of the great benefits of online learning. It can also be a drawback for a student who procrastinates, is unable to stick to a routine study schedule, or is not able to complete assignments without daily reminders from a teacher. Effective time-man…
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Effective and Appropriate Communication Skills

  • Communication skills are vital in online learning because students must seek help when they need it. Teachers are willing to help students, but they are unable to pick up on non-verbal cues, such as a look of confusion on a student's face. Follow these tips: Use the tools provided by the school to communicate with your teachers.Many online schools and programs provide several ways for st…
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Basic Technical Skills

  • Online learners need basic technical skills to succeed. These include the ability to create new documents, use a word processing program, navigate the Internet, and download software. Most online schools have new student orientation programs. These teach students how to use the school's learning management system and other online tools, but they typically don't cover the b…
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Reading and Writing Skills

  • Reading and writing are the main ways you'll communicate in an online class. Although some hard copies of textbooks might be required, you should be comfortable reading a lot of documents on a computer screen and able to type. Some tests and quizzes have multiple choice questions, but many of your assignments will involve writing short or long answers. If you type less than 25-30 …
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Motivation and Independence

  • To be successful, an online student has to want to succeed. Online learning requires independence, internal motivation, responsibility, and a certain level of maturity. Have you given some thought to your own personal reasons for attending school? Are you determined and self-motivated to succeed in school? There are many worthwhile reasons to work hard in school. Yo…
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A Good Study Environment

  • Another critical component of academic success is a good study environment. 1. Get some peace and quiet.You will need a quiet place to work without distractions from things like television, family, or roommates. 2. Avoid games.Consider uninstalling any computer games to avoid temptation. Or keep the games on a different computer in the house. 3. Turn off your cell phone.…
See more on careerwise.minnstate.edu