8 Pitfalls of Online Learning

According to a recent article in the Chronicle of Higher Education, Community-College Students Perform Worse Online Than Face to Face.  As an academic advisor in a community college, I have observed many factors that contribute to online disaster for students. I also have first-hand experience with the challenges of online learning, as a previous student of multiple online courses.  Here are a few tips to help you avoid common mistakes in online learning:

Top 8 Pitfalls of Online Learning:

1.  Underestimating Time -  Students who take online classes because they do not have time to attend a classroom-based course, will likely not have time for an online course either.  A common misconception is that online courses will require less time.  However, chances are you may actually log more hours in an online class in order to be successful, since there may be more reading requirements. The benefit of taking an online course is not that it will take less hours, but that it allows you flexibility to choose where to fit the hours in your daily/weekly schedule.

2.  Technology-  You need to have appropriate technology equipment and computer skills to excel in an online environment.  If you have trouble in either of these areas, you will struggle in an online environment.  Fortunately at COCC, students must take a free online orientation before they can register for online courses.  This assists the student in learning the basic structure of an online course, as well as check their equipment for compatibility.

3.  Reading Intensive - You need to be a good reader and enjoy reading to do well in an online class.  If this blog post is daunting, online learning may be as well.  Many online courses are reading intensive and although online course formats vary widely, they tend to be more text based as a whole.  Its helpful if your learning style preference leans in this direction.  To find out more about your preferred learning style see my earlier post on learning styles.

4.  Structure/Organization- The attractiveness of an online course is usually the flexibility it allows students. However, this flexibility also causes difficulty for students who are not skilled in organizing/structuring their time so they can meet deadlines in a timely manner.  Although you are allowed some flexibility within a given time period to accomplish deadlines, it is critical you have good time management skills and the ability to breakdown your workload into manageable parts.

5.  Accountability - Students must be highly accountable in pacing themselves to keep up with deadlines or they will quickly find themselves buried in school work.  Traditional classroom-based courses also tend to provide more opportunity for outside accountability due to regular face-to-face points of contact.  Its more difficult to procrastinate assignments when you have regular class attendance.  The combination of flexibility in schedule and low face-to-face contact is sure fire disaster for those who are prone to procrastination. 


6.  Isolation - Depending on how the online course is structured, online learning can be a bit isolating.  Its easy to fall through the cracks, if you are not proactively engaging in online discussions, seeking information and asking for help.  In a traditional classroom, there are also usually some "hogs and logs," or those who dominate conversation/learning and those who do not contribute at all.  In this respect, online classrooms are no different, except that it can be a little easier for you to disengage and become a "log" when people are not face-to-face.

7.  Distractions - Its difficult for students (and their families/supervisors) to separate home/work from school when everything is happening in the same space.  Traditional classrooms rarely have young children crying, customers calling, doorbells ringing and other distractions happening at the same time.  In an online course, all of these distractions are real and valid for students.  You appear "accessible" when you are physically present to others.  You may also feel pressure to complete necessary home/work tasks because you are there.  You will do better in online courses if you have set uninterrupted times to focus on school and others are supportive of those set aside times.

 
8.  Supports - Student supports, such as free tutoring or faculty office hours, may be lacking or feel less accessible because they are not physically present.  You may have to work at accessing student supports, but they are often still available to you in ways you may not have thought about.  An instructor may have Skype support available during office hours - allowing you to ask questions face-to-face over the internet or offer chat room hours for discussions and questions. Find out what supports are offered to you in alternative formats and/or traditional services that may still be offered to you (such as tutoring on campus).