What to do When You're Struggling in Your Online Class

By Alyssa Laffitte on December 1, 2018

Lately, online classes have become much more common. Doing your schoolwork online is convenient, since you don’t even need to the comfort of your room to get your work done. You can also do your work at any time of the day, too. But if you are used to traditional classes, online classes will be an adjustment, since you won’t physically have your professor in front of you or your classmates next to you.

For that reason, you won’t have anyone physically there to help you if you are struggling in your online class. What do you do in this situation? In this article, we’ll discuss what to do when you are struggling in your online class.

via Pixabay.com

Re-read the lesson you are struggling with, and the assignment directions

The great thing about online classes is that everything is written down, so you can easily go back and re-read a section you are struggling with. In a traditional class, unless the lecture is recorded, you can’t do this. If you are struggling in your online class, be sure to go back and re-read everything, from the lesson to the instructions of the assignment. It’s possible that you’ve missed something, and re-reading might help you catch something you didn’t see the first time around.

It is also a good idea to read and re-read the directions for each assignment. You want to make sure you are turning in exactly what your professor wants you to turn in. You can easily lose points if you don’t turn in what you are asked to. Avoid this by simply re-reading the assignment instructions, just to ensure that you are doing the right thing.

Before you email your teacher or contact anyone asking for help, please re-read the directions! Your professor will be annoyed if they have to answer a question that they have already answered in the lesson text or in the assignment instructions. (For example, don’t ask, when the assignment is due if the instructions clearly state when the assignment is due.)

Contact your professor

Of course, the best resource for your online class will definitely be your professor. If you have re-read the lesson and the assignment instructions, and you still have not found the answer to your question, you should email your teacher. Just as in a traditional college experience, it is important to communicate with your professors in an online class.

In both situations, they can’t help you if they don’t know that you are struggling. Don’t be afraid to email your professors, especially for your online classes. They will be happy to help you. At the end of the day, your professor will be the best person to help you succeed in your online class, so please email them if you are ever struggling in your online class.

Contact fellow students in your class

Similarly, you could contact any of your fellow students if you are struggling in your online class. Because online students don’t see their classmates in person (like students in traditional classes do), so it is hard for online students to form relationships with their classmates just as students in traditional classes do. For that reason, online classes usually have discussion forums to encourage students to form relationships with each other.

If you are struggling in your online class, you can use these discussion forums to contact fellow students in your class and ask them for help. Chances are good that one of your fellow classmates knows the answer to your question. You might be able to help out one of your fellow classmates, too. At the same time, this will help you build relationships with your classmates. In addition to asking your professor for help in your online class, you can also ask your fellow students.

Use other resources to seek out the answers to your questions

Nowadays, thanks to the Internet, we have access to so much information at the tip of our fingers. You can find the answer to almost any question you can have in just a couple of seconds with a quick Google or Wikipedia search. If you don’t want to reach out to someone and ask your question, you can ask the Internet instead! Even YouTube can be a great educational resource if you look up resources like Khan Academy and Crash Course. If you are a visual learner, these videos will be helpful, since they explain complex concepts in a simple fashion. Also, they include lots of animations, graphics, and visuals that will help you understand the materials.

Similarly, you can always re-read something you find on the Internet or replay a video, just to make sure you have a good understanding of the concept. The Internet, including Google, Wikipedia, and YouTube, can be great resources to help you when you are struggling in your online class.

Online classes are different from traditional classes, but you still have many resources to help you when you are struggling in your online class.

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