Professor shares tips to stay organized in online classes
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Your guide to organization for online classes
You probably already know this, but online classes can take a lot more organization than face-to-face classes.
Maybe you are considering taking online classes for the very first time, and are worried how you’ll manage to stay organized in online classes.
Or you are already in an online class and wondering if this is right for you? It can seem like a lot of work.
As a professor of online classes, as well as in-person classes, I got you covered.
I am going to tell you exactly what to expect, and how to tackle organization like a pro so you don’t fall behind and risk being stressed out.
You’ve got this.
Why is organization different for online classes?
When you are taking in-person classes, your professor is probably reminding you of important deadlines during their class.
As a professor, I would always write upcoming deadlines on the board to remind my students.
But in online classes, it’s up to the student to remember when assignments are due.
And let’s be honest, face-to-face classes typically have fewer assignments than online classes.
What I’ve noticed is that my online classes have many more assignments, sometimes nearly triple the number of assignments compared to my in-person classes.
You’re probably wondering why.
It’s not because I like to torture my students, but because online classes require much more independent learning, and to make sure students are REALLY reading the materials as directed, I have more assignments embedded into the course.
It’s just a form of checks and balances.
I need to know students are staying on task and reading all the materials and these assignments are a way for students to check-in and see their academic abilities.
In an online class, if assignments weren’t required, your professor wouldn’t know if you were having trouble with the material.
And you wouldn’t know either.
Assessments are important to gauge how well a student knows the material.
But I’ll be real here, in an online class, you don’t have to sit in lectures, so having some additional assignments here and there isn’t really all that bad of a tradeoff. Am I right?
Besides the coursework, online classes require students to be motivated and work independently.
No one is standing over your shoulder, watching you work on your homework, and you may not have designated times where you need to be online, so it takes an organized person to stay on top of everything.
Why is staying organized so important?
If you get behind in an online class, it can be hard to catch up.
For one, you are really teaching yourself a lot of the material with the online information that your professor carefully crafted for your course.
While there may be videos, notes, and presentations online, you will still be interpreting a lot of it independently.
While this can seem simple, if you get behind on your coursework, you’ll have a hard time understanding the material.
And worse, the rest of the semester will be more difficult because you just can’t catch up on the beginning coursework.
So, it’s very important to stay organized in an online class to make sure you have enough time to learn the material, complete the coursework, and build a solid foundation for future information.
Not only will you not learn the material, but you could get bad grades.
If you fall behind, you may forget to submit assignments, or rush through assignments so quickly that you submit some of your worst work.
This can all result in some awful grades.
And then you might find yourself begging your professor to give you extra credit or let you makeup an assignment.
You don’t want to get here.
So, start organizing first thing in the semester to make sure you get everything done on time and set yourself up for success.
Things you’ll need to organize for your online class
Checking-in
It is very likely that your professor can see when you login to the course and how often you participate. So, make it a plan to login every weekday, if possible. But at the very least, every other day. You want to show your professor that you are dedicated. This can especially be helpful if you are really close to the next letter grade and need some extra help. The first thing your professor is going to do is see how much time you even spent online in the first place.
Assignments
You’ll be doing all your assignments online, so you’ll need to stay organized with your coursework, so you don’t forget about completing an assignment. You will need to setup a good system to make sure you give yourself plenty of time to prepare, complete and submit the assignments on time.
Studying
This is probably something must students don’t even plan for, but you need to organize a studying routine. Do you want to study every day, or once a week? It will depend on your course, but you really need to make sure you plan a specific time that is only dedicated to studying.
You are going to thank me.
Don’t leave your studying to chance. If you plan it, you’ll do it.
Reviewing course materials
Since everything is going to be online, you’ll need to make sure you spend enough time reviewing all the course materials. I would make this a separate task apart from your studying. You need to make sure that you teach yourself the material and then follow-up with studying to prepare for assignments and tests.
These are really two different things (studying and learning).
Tips to stay organized in college online classes
1.) Download apps
When you are taking an online class, there is something called a learning management system (LMS)
To put it simply, this is where your online class can be found. You’ll log into this LMS to get your assignments, materials, message your professor, etc.
Everything is here.
Not all colleges will use the same LMS.
And these systems are usually a different platform than your college’s website.
But either way, most come with an application.
You can download these applications, and setup notifications to be reminded of important due dates.
Depending on the applications, you may have lots of other options to interact with your online classroom.
So don’t delay downloading the app on your smartphone to make sure you are reminded of important deadlines.
And if you had an emergency where you needed to use your smartphone to complete an assignment or email your professor for help, you’d be able to do that quickly instead of scrambling at the last minute.
2.) Setup notifications
Even if you download the app, make sure you setup notifications everywhere you can.
Not only can you get notifications via the app, you can setup notifications directly in the LMS your college uses.
Almost all of the popular ones have notifications and you can set your preferences to make sure you always know when something important is coming up or has happened.
You can get notified when your professor grades your assignment, or you have a message in your inbox.
These notifications help communicate important deadlines and can save you from a zero when you forget about an assignment.
Life gets busy. And things happen. But don’t let it get you behind.
3.) Get a planner
This is the way I stay organized.
I love using technology, but it fails.
Let’s be honest.
Have you ever setup an alarm on your phone, but the battery ran out or it shut off during the night, and the alarm just never went off?
Then you’re panicking in the morning and trying to get out the door.
While it might not happen often, it can. It’s happened to me.
So, avoid the pitfalls of technology and relying on it completely, and get your hands on a physical planner!
You won’t regret it.
I have my favorite planner and I don’t go anywhere without it.
I usually set aside an hour or so to get setup for the next month to make sure I’ve got everything noted in my planner, so I don’t miss anything. And it has worked for me.
4.) Set reminders in your phone
While I know technology isn’t perfect, I still recommend using it as a backup. Set up alerts in your phone for important deadlines.
And this isn’t just for deadlines, but to remind you to study, log on to your online class, check in with your professor, anything really.
The more ways you are reminded, the more likely you are to follow-through.
5.) Print your calendar
Get the course calendar and print it.
Put it on your refrigerator so the class is always in your face.
I took a training once, and it was online.
I was constantly forgetting about deadlines. They were always in the back of my mind. I could have avoided all of that if I just would have reminded myself by printing out the course calendar and placing it on my fridge or somewhere noticeable.
I would have at least seen it, and had a visual reminder that I needed to work on the course.
6.) Make a plan
First, think about how much time you’ll need to study for the class.
Secondly, consider the coursework.
Do you need hours every week to review the course materials?
How long will the assignments take you?
Start to carve out time in your schedule, and say that you will study every Monday at 6pm, etc.
Making a schedule for these tasks will help you stay organized and on track.
7.) Think about your workplace
You are going to need to have a comfortable workstation. I know that I work my best when I have all the things I need near me, like paper, pens, computer, printer, and treats.
Get your space tidy, and clear of distractions.
If you have everything you need, and an organized workstation, you’ll be more productive.
8.) Get an accountability person
This can be a friend, family member, classmate, anyone who can hold you accountable.
Be honest with them and tell them what your expectations are for yourself.
Let them know you’d like them to check-in and ask if you’re meeting your goals.
Choose someone who is going to be polite, thoughtful, and inspiring.
I am not asking you to find someone who is going to be bossy, but rather motivating.
If I have a goal I want to set for myself, I will tell someone important to me, and then they gently remind me of the goals I had and check-in to make sure I am completing them. It’s always been helpful. At first you might get a little defensive when they check-in, but know they are coming from a good place.
9.) Get separate binders
For each class, get a separate notebook to organize all your materials.
And clearly label them.
This way you can easily find the materials you need without feeling overwhelmed.
I do this with the classes that I teach, and it helps so much.
Before I got organized with notebooks, I would find myself procrastinating on tasks because all my paperwork was messy.
It just wasn’t something I wanted to deal with until the very last minute.
Now everything is organized, put away neatly, and easy to access.
10.) Avoid distractions
Do NOT have your phone out, T.V. on, or friends over when you are trying to accomplish something.
It’s best to be free of any distractions so you won’t be tempted to start doing something else.
Plus, you’ll be more likely to finish your tasks on time since you aren’t distracted by other things.
11.) Avoid making Excuses
Avoid making excuses due to poor planning on your part.
Set yourself up for success by implementing these things, and if you fall short, find where you went wrong.
Yes, things happen. But if you plan diligently, you’re more likely to be successful.
12.) Don’t procrastinate
If you don’t stay organized, and try to do things at the last minute, you’re creating a risk.
I can’t tell you how many times students have missed deadlines because of technical difficulties and they didn’t have time to figure it out before the deadline.
Don’t submit assignments online at the last minute. Give yourself plenty of time to complete them, and submit them.
Even though I allow for exceptions when technical issues arise, I think it’s best to avoid it at all costs.
PRO TIP: If you experience a technical issue completing an assignment, take screenshots so you can show your professor that you tried to submit it. And then immediately send your assignment to your professor via email.
This way you can prove that you did it and send them your screenshot at the same time.
This way your professor can believe that you really did have a problem AND the assignment was completed before the deadline.
It will look a little more suspicious if you send an email days after the deadline to inform them that you did it, but had technical issues. It’s a little harder to prove too.
Bottom line
Online classes can seem daunting at first.
It’s a lot different than in-person classes, and you might be intimidated by online class.
There can be more assignments but that’s the trade-off for not attending classes.
With some planning and organization, you can be successful in your online classes by following these amazing tips from a professor!
You got this.
