Online classes are not suitable for everyone. Some people learn better in a group environment with a professor and students, while others learn better on their own. However, some people may have to take online classes because of their schedule. If you have to take online classes but are not really accustomed to them, here are 5 tips that can help you manage online classes.

1. Stay on top of deadlines. The main reason why many people are not able to do well in online classes is because of deadlines. Due to the course being online, professors usually do not give deadline reminders or alerts. It is your responsibility to keep track of what’s due. An easy way to keep track of all your deadlines is by writing everything down. During the beginning of the semester, I like to take a look at the course syllabus and write down all of the upcoming dates and deadlines in my planner for exams, assignments, etc.
2. Stay organized. It is very important to stay organized when dealing with online classes because it can get overwhelming with all the dates. To stay organized, I put different colored post-it notes in my planner on the top of days that have important deadlines or exam dates. To make sure I don’t confuse the different colors, I make a legend in the front of my planner. This is very helpful because you’re able to see what type of assignment or deadline you may have that week.
3. Take time out for the online course, even if it’s only an hour a day. Everyone is busy, especially college students. However, it is important for us to put the same amount of time and focus into online classes just as if they were regular classes. The whole point of taking an online class is not to put less time and focus into the course, but instead because it may be more convenient in terms of someone’s schedule. By taking an hour out of your day to go over the material in the course, it can really help you put more focus into the course.
4. Make sure that you have reliable internet access. Having good internet access is the foundation of successfully taking part in an online course. It would be an extreme pity if the browser were to crash during an exam, writing a discussion post, etc. You also wouldn’t want your upload to fail mid-upload, especially if it is close to the deadline time. That’s why having good internet access is vital for taking an online course.
5. Ask for help. In regular classes, students are more motivated to ask for help because it is easier when the professor is standing in front of you. But, you shouldn’t hesitate in asking for help from the professor in an online course. Most professors provide their email in the course syllabus so you can easily email them if you have any questions or concerns. Some professors even have “office hours” where you can set up a video chat with the professor and ask your questions to the professor as if they are right in front of you. With more than one option available, it shouldn’t be too difficult to contact the professor in an online course.