The world is changing and taking online courses in fields of interest is the new cool ,we have so many sites where you can sign up for online courses such as udemy ,coursera ,khan academy ,edx and a whole lot more, signing up to these courses are very easy but focusing, completing them is a major challenge, I was in these shoes once but I learnt how to focus ,complete and learn from an online course and that’s why I have put together 5 tips that helped me and I hope it helps you too..
1)Give yourself a timeline:
Online courses can be boring most times and its very easy to forget, on like physical classrooms where you get a teacher to make you take your classes or the school body to force you to be serious online courses don’t do that, so basically you are 100% in charge of yourself, just as you will have school timelines ,you create a timeline for yourself for instance, you can give yourself a week to finish one online course and the reason why I suggest a week is because learning takes concentration and they will be no need to do an online course if you wont be learning anything from it, so set a timeline for that course, place it where you can see it daily it will always remind you of what you should be doing even when you forget.
2)Block all social Apps when its time for your course:
The truth is for most of us that use our phones for online courses ,getting notifications can be a major distraction to us, so check your phone settings and restrict your social media apps from running for the period of time you have assigned to yourself to finish the course, just like lot of us, Social media has become very addictive and when we stay off social media it really feels like a lot has happened and the truth is when we come back we realize that we didn’t really miss anything lol, so avoiding social media to focus on a course maybe for 3hrs daily will be a big plus to you and your future.
3)Do online courses at night or in a quiet environment:
I don’t know if this works for everyone but learning in a quiet environment works magic for me, it help me focus on the tutor and what he is teaching ,I tend to be more focused and concentrate more when everywhere is dark and quiet, so starting a course when everyone is asleep and the house is quiet makes me understand and enjoy the course more.
4)Get a course mate:
Just like having a real course mate in your physical classes helps, it is very advisable to tell a friend about a course you want to start and you guys start it together, it helps you both support and encourage each other anytime one of you is falling off, it is best when you both set a deadline for everyone to finish the course and you talk about what you learnt from the course together.
5)Write a summary after each course:
What is the main aim of finishing an online courses if you don’t really learn anything from it ,some may say its for the certificate and a lot of reasons but understanding should be the watchword, so after each course write down a summary of what you learnt from the course ,it helps you focus more on the lecture if you make it a habit, it also comes in handy anytime you are faced with a problem about the knowledge you have.