The secret of taking an online course successfully is becoming a dedicated and planning person; plus, you must identify if the content of a course is meaningful and have a clear idea of what are you going to do after you finish it.
Of course, you won’t be a disciplined person overnight, but by taking note of the following advices you might end up being motivated to complete any online course you take.
Dedication and planning
One of the key reasons why people finish an online course is because they practice discipline which, of course, can’t be accomplished without planning.
Before taking a course in this modality, it is necessary to have a correct time management with clear goals; otherwise, it will be easier to prioritize your personal or professional life rather than acquiring new knowledge and skills.
Despite the flexibility of online education, it still useful to create a study routine, free of distractions, to commit to the process and get focus to understand the new content.
This flexibility purpose refers to the freedom of making your own schedule while learning at your own pace, but without procrastinating your course assignments.
As self-taught students, online learners have the opportunity to create their own learning strategies whether they might be mental maps, summaries, asking their peers or search on a forum, for instance.
An online course will give you some guidelines for you to follow, but you can compliment them with your own learning strategies.
Meaningful learning
Enrolling in an online course is a matter of just a couple of clicks, but having a meaningful learning from it, requires commitment and not forgetting about your main goals.
When we talk about a meaningful learning we refer to a durable, generalizable and functional knowledge. You must be sure of getting into a course which will provide you these three aspects.
What are your expectations for this course? How will you take advantage of the activities and assignments? Are you aware that your classmates are in the same process you are?
Besides increasing your knowledge, online education can give you long-term benefits: Building a portfolio and networking.
- Building a portfolio will encourage you to make creative and excellent projects through your learning process. After the course, you’ll have work samples or a personal project you could present to companies and increase your job opportunities.Also, if you decide to create a website to be your portfolio, you´ll have an online presence you can use to start building your personal brand.
- Through an active participation in the virtual forums, you can do networking, increase your collaboration or even find new business partners.Online courses communities provide you a space to share with your peers and asking for feedback on your work.
What’s next?
As we mentioned before, choosing to invest in an online course requires some security of what you will do after finished. Some online programs could even change your career.
Luckily for Android Developers, their career has a good job perspective. Today this profession is considered as a profit-making option and these profiles are in high demand, including good incomes.
Opportunities are around the corner, however, it is important not just learning, but also doing something with what you learn. For example, the Professional Android Developer MicroMaster Program, besides other useful exercises, has a Capstone Project you can use to build an Android App and show it as part of your portfolio.
Which learning strategies have you taken to be successful in an online course? Do you have a clear vision of what you will do after the course is done?
