5 Problems With Regards to Online Studying
The Coronavirus
pandemic has marked (and apparently is still marking) one period of our lives. For
students, it meant switching to online classes, remote learning and work
exclusively from home. Although in beginning it might be interesting, students
around the globe have been studying remotely for almost a year. Previous year
for me will be remembered as being accepted to CEU, moving to another city just
to later follow classes online from my apartment, Zoom sessions, Moodle and
Slack assignments, “you are muted” famous sentence and many other things.
However, I am now in my second semester of online studying, and for this time I
have identified the five most common problems with regards to online studying.
Here I want to share them with you and offer potential solutions to how to
overcome them.
1. Zoning out from classes
during Zoom meetings. I am sure that almost everyone has encountered this
problem. You are in the Zoom class and suddenly you find yourself thinking
about some completely unimportant thing for minutes while at the same time find
it difficult to concentrate on the class. It is much easier to zone out of the
class when you are not physically in the same room with the professor and other
colleagues. Especially if you turn off the camera! To avoid this problem, try
to always think about the last sentence professor said, and also try taking
notes. This way you will stay concentrated and won’t miss any important part of
the class.
2. Many students
(and I among them) have stopped taking notes after switching to online
classes. During on-campus classes I used to take notes by hand in a notebook or
sometimes on a laptop using OneNote (which is very good for typing notes by the
way). However, I noticed that I stopped taking notes during online classes which
significantly affected my academic performance. There are two main reasons why
I stopped taking notes: first, my desk was small and I did not have enough
space to accommodate my laptop and my notebook and write notes comfortably;
second, I tried to use OneNote, but minimizing Zoom to open OneNote in another
window leads to not being to see professors’ slides (if he shared the screen).
Try to avoid this pitfall! If you like to write down your notes, ensure that
you have enough space to watch the class and write notes down. Or, if you want
to use OneNote (or any similar software) maybe additional monitor would be a good
idea.
3. Mobile phone is the worst
enemy of any student. You were in the online class when you received a message
from a friend. You will just quickly answer it and go back to the class. It’s a
trap, don’t do it! Soon you will start chatting and you will get nothing from
the class. During classes (and studying also) turn off your smartphone (or at
least disconnect it from internet/activate “do not disturb" mode) or put it in
other room how you could concentrate on the class.
4. How many times it happened to you
that your roommate(s)/family members had to ask you something during the class?
Interruptions and distractions are not good for your concentration. You
will easily lose track of what the professor was talking about and it would
become harder for you to follow. You should have dedicated place in your
house/apartment, ideally private room, where no one would disturb your while in
class. Purpose of classes is to provide you with knowledge and skills, if you
are online, but not following it, you are just wasting your time.
5. Anxiety is the most common
product of remote studying. Many students spend their days studying and
sleeping. After while they become stressful and anxious, which affects their
overall performance. Do not spend a whole day in a room only studying, try to get
out for a walk, exercise and separate your study space from your relaxation
place. And most importantly, do not forget to socialize! Speaking with other
people can be helpful, so be sure to stay in touch with your family, friends
and other colleagues. It will make it much easier for you.
These would be five problems in remote studying which I noticed on myself and other students. I hope it was helpful for you, and if you noticed any of the mentioned problems in your case try to overcome them, if you are not able to, ask for help. Speak with your colleagues or faculty staff, they can help you. If you have any additional problems, feel free to share them in the comments section.