Over the past few months, the current global situation has forced schools to shut down and leave billions of children out of the classroom. This has changed the nature of education significantly, as educators have had to resort to remote and distance learning to meet demands – from a digital classroom for a high schooler to flexible learning options for a postgraduate.
Although MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) have been around for years now, they’ve experienced a resurgence in the last few months due to these circumstances. If you’re a newcomer to the MOOC world, here’s what you need to know to help you successfully finish a class.
# Make it easy for you to start
The most effective way to get habits to stick is to make it as simple as possible to start. Simplify your study routine and get down to the basics. This will make it much easier for you to keep at it until the end. A simple routine would be opening the website to your MOOC course, logging in, reading your task list, and starting in the first chapter. A no-frills approach ensures that you can start and finish your tasks as soon as possible without much effort.
# Set goals and milestones for you to reach
Think about what you want to get out of the course. Do you just want to get a grasp of the basics or are you working towards earning a certificate? You’ll be more inclined to finish a course and feel more fulfilled with what you’ve accomplished if you have an end goal in sight or several small achievements you want to fulfill.
# Choose the right course
Sometimes, an interesting course might not necessarily be the right course for you. Take the time to look through the syllabus and course offerings and see if it’s something you actually want to invest your time and effort into. If you’re interested in the topic, but you don’t feel that the syllabus is right for you, you’re sure to find tons of courses that cover the same topic but with a different approach. Do your due diligence and seek these out if it’s truly something you really want to learn.
# Reward yourself for your accomplishments
There’s no harm in rewarding yourself for every quiz you ace or module you complete. These accomplishments, no matter how small, are worthy of being celebrated. The more positivity you attach to fulfilling your goals, the more likely you are to keep going, so be sure to give yourself a pat on the back as you progress through the course.
# Dress the part
While it might seem tempting to stay in your pajamas while studying your course, it’s better to put yourself in a more productive mindset by dressing the part. You don’t have to dress fancy, simply changing out of the clothes you slept in and wearing a new set of house clothes is already enough to put you in the mood to get down to business.
It’s never too late to start learning new things. Thanks to the proliferation of online learning platforms, it’s now easier than ever to do so. These tips will help you successfully finish a MOOC course if you’re just starting out or if you’re having difficulty completing one.
