Getting the most out of an online education takes dedication – as well as a few simple tools. From online finds to physical hardware, these sites and gadgets will make your distance education academic career all the easier.
1. Giant desk calendar. With your already hectic life, chances are you will forget assignment and test due dates. These mental slips will unnecessarily impede your grade. To make sure this doesn’t happen, look over your syllabus and write down when everything is due for your classes on a desk calendar. If your class involves assigned readings, write down when you should have each reading done as well. Calculate how much time you think you will need to complete each assignment and make notes on the calendar on what day you will begin the assignments. Remember to factor in other assignments you have for your other classes as well as personal things you have to take care of, such as a job schedule or special events.
2. Webcam. Even a cheap webcam is sufficient for virtual meetings with your peers. Most online universities cap their classes at about 20 students, so getting to know your classmates, even though you might not be in the same town, let alone building, as them, is possible and beneficial. Rather than having a text-based relationship, webcams allow students to look at assignments and talk to each other in real time, making it seem as though you are in an actual study session with the other student.
3. Google Docs (docs.google.com) Group assignments still exist in many online universities. With Google Docs, these projects will be much easier to manage. You don’t have to figure out everyone’s schedules to set up an online meeting time because any group member can create documents or upload them online, and other members can collaborate from the comfort of their own homes. The application also allows individual users to organize the files, making team work a breeze.
4. Grade Guru (http://www.gradeguru.com) Students and teachers can share notes on this website, and star note sharers can even earn some extra cash. Users swap notes on various subjects, so studying becomes more in depth than any textbook or classroom lecture recordings can cover. Students who are struggling to understand a concept have the advantage of reading several explanations of it by different people, so there’s bound to a light bulb moment where comprehension is achieved.
