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If you’re new to online learning, you may feel overwhelmed because you’re actually learning two things at once: course content and how to manage the course itself. Many of us are pretty good at finding our way around a physical classroom. We know when to raise our hand or jump into a conversation, how to hand in a paper or take a test, and how to catch the instructor’s attention when we have a question. Online courses pose some challenges, but they also provide some extra ways to find help.
First, remember that every strategy you use for finding information in the rest of your life can be used when you’re taking an online class. When you want to know how tall an emperor penguin is or what the name of the fourth Fast & the Furious movie was, you probably turn to Google. When you’re lost in your online class, you can do the same thing.
Because so many students and teachers are online these days, you’re likely to find help with whatever problem you’re running into. Remember: If you can include the name of the system you’re learning on, you’ll have better luck finding help. For example, I can Google “how do I upload an assignment in Moodle from iPhone” and turn up more than 6,000 videos and 100,000 articles. Are some of those junk? You bet! But within the first page, I’ll probably find the answer to my question.
Second, use the other students in your class as a resource. Just like you might ask someone sitting nearby for notes or clarification, in an online class, you can post to class forums to get help. You can also contact your instructor as soon as you hit a point of frustration.
Finally, try to separate out the stress of the technical from the stress of learning content. If you’re frustrated because you can’t get a file to work, you’re less likely to be in a good place to learn. Go back to the why and what of your course whenever you can: Why am I reading this/being asked to write this/finishing this project? What does the instructor want me to learn from this? Keep in mind what’s the priority to takeaway, and then reach out to the right person for help. Technical questions might go to a help desk or call line, while questions about the content can go right to your instructor.