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How to Thrive in Online College Classes
Master these skills to achieve success in online classes
Today, the opportunity to take online college classes is greater than ever before. Whether you are fulfilling basic requirements in preparation for more advanced work in a 4-year college or seeking a degree fully online, learning online successfully takes specific skills and temperament.
In an almost 25 year college teaching career, I taught more than 100 courses in person, online, or in hybrid format. One hundred percent online classes include those that are videocasted or delivered through an asynchronous bulletin board system. Hybrid classes meet in person but use an electronic system for submitting assignments and taking exams. Students who excel in online learning share a great deal of similarities, regardless of previous educational background.
Online college is just as valid a delivery structure for learning as in person lectures with highly rated professors. In fact, the popularity of online class speaks to the need for flexibility in learning today to accommodate hectic personal schedules and different learning styles. Not everyone succeeds in a traditional college lecture environment. But just the same, online learning is not for everyone either.