Following the COVID-19 pandemic, UCF released the following statement:
“All classes have moved online through the end of the Spring 2020 semester, and students are asked not to return to campus. Essential campus operations are continuing, and most employees, with the exception of employees whose jobs cannot be performed remotely, are asked to begin working remotely.”
With most of the nation’s colleges and universities going online, the thought of keeping up with classes that are supposed to be taught face-to-face becomes increasingly stressful.
Here are a couple of ways that can help with staying on top of online classes, especially if it’s not something you are used to.
- Keep a Schedule!
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The most important way to keep up with all your classes is to make a schedule! As soon as professors are able to release updated syllabi, use a planner or make your own calendar of when all assignments, quizzes and exams are due. Write down everything as a day or two earlier than it is actually due. This way, you won’t have to worry about submitting anything late.
Keep track of this schedule every week. Every Monday, I like to set goals of everything I have to do day by day, whether it is completing an assignment or studying for an exam.
Additionally, some professors have the same due dates every week, so setting reminders on your phone when things are due also helps in avoiding past due assignments.
Another way to keep track of your schedule for the week is through Webcourses. Webcourses has a feature on the desktop that allows you to change the dashboard view from card view to list view. List view shows you all your assignments due day-by-day. This feature is also on the Webcourses app on mobile devices under the “To Do” tab.
Staying on top of assignments and studying helps you understand what you don’t understand. Since office hours are now only through email or phone, the sooner you know if you need help, the sooner the professor can help you with succeeding in the course material.
- Keep a Routine!
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The hardest part of online classes is keeping yourself in a routine. This is a lot easier to do with in-person classes as you usually are required to go to classes at a certain time. Online causes this schedule to break if lectures are simply posted online for you to listen to at your own leisure. However, a way to allow yourself to stay in a routine would be to study and listen to lectures at the same time as your original classes were. This will keep your mind focused and allow you to stray away from becoming unmotivated.
Straying off of a routine makes it easy to think that because classes are online now, they will become easier. This is usually not the case. Try to focus the same attention you would on studying for exams and quizzes as you would if you were about to take the exam in person.
It can also help to stay focused on online classes by getting ready as if you were going to attend an in-person lecture.
It’s important not to let the stress of online classes overwhelm you too much. Take everything one day at a time. Online classes are definitely difficult, but they are doable. Don’t ever hesitate to reach out to friends and family for support if you start to feel increasingly overwhelmed and anxious.
I hope the remainder of this semester goes well for everyone! We got this!