How to Ace Online Classes - Traditional Distance Education and MOOCs - A Step by Step Guide to Success

Introduction

You’ve signed up for an online degree after carefully choosing your university and major. Or, you have decided to become part of the revolution in online learning known as MOOCs (Massive Open Online Course) offered by one of the leading providers such as Coursera, Edx, Udacity or Udemy. This step-by-guide ensures success if you do your best to follow its advice. There are two separate sections: one for traditional distance education courses offered by universities and the other for MOOCs.

Traditional online course

Choosing the right mode of learning

Some courses allow for live, synchronized classes while others have pre-recorded videos. Some may have online exams while others may require you to take proctored exams at a testing center.

Before the class begins

     Do I have to do this class? There are a number of alternatives to taking the course. Many US universities offer CLEP exams that substitute for an online class. In the near future, you can take an MOOC for free or little cost in place of a university class.

     Get your course materials ready: Order your textbook in advance – if ordering a book from an overseas re-seller or marketplace like Amazon, give it 15-20 days to reach you.

     Make sure it is the right edition: Some courses and universities have custom editions. In that case, you have no choice but to order from the school’s online bookstore. If the book is out of stock in the bookstore: Order the closest edition you can find - probably one edition newer or older.

    Establish a connection with your instructor or academic adviser  Ask any doubts or queries about the course.

      Prepare for the course: Ask yourself – what am I going to gain out of this course? What do I already know about this subject? What are my expectations for this course? Make the course(s) a priority. Try and schedule travel away from crucial periods such as midterms and finals.

    Establish a competence with online learning: Read the Get Started tutorials on your university’s website. Make sure you have a fast internet connection and a good laptop. A printer might come in handy too. Considering buying a wireless USB modem for working when outdoors or during travel.

When class starts:

Once the material is posted, get into action right away. Use a project management software to schedule your important dates and deadlines. Be aware of time zone differences and how they affect your schedule.

Plan your time: Decide how to spend each week. If you prefer focusing on work, finishing it and then taking time off, do so. Or try to mix work and play into each day. If you are a working professional, try to find time each day to do the smaller assignments or reading, while keeping the larger ones for the weekend.

Prioritize: Make note of the assignments which carry the greatest weight. Make sure to do them first. Within assignments, follow the same rule if you can.

During the course:
Try and cover all the material in the course. Watch the videos, skim the presentations, do the reading and complete the assignments. And most importantly, engage in the discussion forums.

Make use of the discussion forums: These are the most unique aspect of an online course. Spend time in the discussion forums critiquing your classmates, establishing smaller groups based on interest or geographical proximity. Since online classes are usually taken by working professionals, it is a great opportunity to learn from each other’s experience.

Use social media: Blog about your learning and progress during the course. It is a great way to self-document your learning experience. Gain an appreciate audience by advertising through social media like Facebook, Google+, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Space out your learning: Doing an hour daily is better than 5 hours at a stretch since it aids retention. Take regular breaks.

Communicate with your professor: Ask your faculty to elaborate on his/her feedback. Inform ahead of time if you are going to be late with your submissions for a genuine reason. If you are having difficulty in a subject area, ask for an explanation or resources.

Review: Set aside a time for a weekly review. Make visual notes. Mind-map, create flowcharts, timelines etc.

Go beyond the course material: This is applicable if you have time to spare. There are thousands of online and print resources that can supplement your learning and help you with difficult areas. Sign up for an MOOC (to be covered in the next section) to supplement your learning.

After the end of the course:

      Keep in touch with your new connections.

Reflect on whether you achieved your learning goals. If not satisfied with your grade, consider retaking the class.

 Take a related class the next semester: This will force you to recall some concepts from the previous semester. It will also provide a continuity and build your interest.

Massive Open Online Courses

     Before starting: Selection and Planning

     Selection is key: At the moment, few MOOCs are being offered as replacements for credit courses at universities. However, when grades are less relevant, learning becomes the main focus. Maximize your learning by following the steps below:
      If you are taking a course which is outside your career/field of interest, make sure it is worth your precious time. Also, make sure that your interest in the course is not superficial and that you will make use of the information after the course ends. If in doubt, audit the course. That is an advantage of it being free.

    Make a plan: Do courses that are related to each other and achieve a bigger goal. For example, if you want to build a start-up, you might want to combine business courses and technology courses specific to your start-up. A good website resource to start would be MyEducationPath.com which, besides listing MOOC’s, offers a semester by semester breakdown of paths that you can choose from. Or try Saylor.org, which uses freely available materials to create courses which lead to a degree (not an accredited one, but a MOOC degree).

    Use MOOC aggregators: MOOC aggregators list MOOCs by start date, topics etc. They can speed up and simplify your search.

     Don’t just go by reputation: While reputation is definitely an important factor, it is best to find out if the course matches your interest by either viewing an archived version of the course or reading reviews online.

     Choose action oriented courses: Some courses allow you to collaborate with companies in helping them solve problems or designing innovative products. These are excellent for developing your real-world skills, establishing connections, and developing your resume or portfolio.

     Choose your mode:
     Self-paced courses require more self-discipline in order to complete them. While remaining flexible, try to allot a few hours a week anyway in order to complete it within a fixed period of time. Also, make sure you do not leave too much of a gap in between study sessions, since you are likely to forget the material
     University-style courses: Requires a lot of time-management skills and dedication. The level of difficulty or involvement may exceed that of a typical traditional online course in some instances
    Paid courses may be a good option if you are willing or are able to afford spending some cash. Most paid courses are either on a pay-per-course basis like Udemy and Coursehero, or on a membership basis like Learnable, Teamtreehouse or Lynda.com
     MOOCs are great for remedial or supplementary courses. They allow you to customize the learning experience. Some MOOCs offer several parallel tracks that offer different levels of immersion in the material.

     During the course

Collaborate: Doing a course is a massive opportunity to collaborate with others. Peer review is probably a new concept you will encounter during courses with projects like design or writing. You might be relieved to know that peer-grading is actually more reliable than a group of TA’s or even the instructor grading your paper, which is not possible in an MOOC because of its scale.

     Use the discussion forums: Most MOOCs do not allow for email correspondence with the instructors, though I have seen platforms with chat and hangouts available between classmates and instructors. However, due to the number of people involved with different levels of education and experience, you may get a quicker or better answer than in a traditional classroom or by emailing your instructor.

   Make a small focus group or join a meet-up: Using online study platforms such as GetStudyRoom and group meet up websites like Meetup.com allow you to share and learn with a smaller subset of your classmates. This enhances the learning experience.

     Use an online tutoring platform: Though the prices are expensive, online tutoring is viable if you are taking a course as a substitute for a credit course at university (like the Signature track on Coursera). 

     After the course:

Apply your knowledge: Leading from the idea of MOOC’s, MOAT’s provide experiential learning courses in which you do real-world projects with companies for a fee and build your portfolio. This is on a temporary basis and allows you to work with several companies in a short period of time.

   Show off your new learning credentials by using websites such as Degreed.com or Accredible.com which offer you points on the basis of your learning and allow you to create an online portfolio.

     Consider teaching a course, becoming a tutor or being a course or community TA: Not only will this help you increase your understanding of the material and give you feedback, but it may be a source of income and/or lead to a great following online and increased reputation.

    Write a review on Coursetalk: Do a favor for the MOOC community and write an honest review about the course so that others can use your experience to help them decide whether to take the course. 

     Resources:
     MOOC Aggregators:

      www.mooc-list.com/‎
     http://www.class-central.com/
         http://www.openculture.com/free_certificate_courses

MOOC Providers:

     Paid:

      Udemy.com
     Coursehero.com
     Lynda.com
     Teamtreehouse.com
     Learnable.com
     Codeschool.com

     Free:

     Coursera.org
     EdX.org
     Udacity.com
     NovoEd

MOOC Ratings and Reviews

http://coursetalk.org/