Students today are no strangers to online learning. Whether it’s in your classes at school, or the tutoring you receive. Whilst many of the skills you need for face-to-face learning in the physical classroom still apply in the digital space, there’s no doubt that online learning is changing online tutoring.
Online learning can be a uniquely formative experience for high school students, helping you to develop key transferable learning skills, like independent research and personal organisation, which will benefit you far beyond graduation.
1. Why is science so split up in Year 11 and 12?
The ever growing wealth of information available online means that you have never been better positioned to take learning into your own hands. However, with greater access to knowledge comes greater chances for stumbling across misleading information, making skills like digital literacy crucial.
What is Digital Literacy?
The ability to accurately identify and
confidently use beneficial technological
resources to learn and work
in a digital society.
The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) lists digital literacy as a core skill for students in Australia. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) also notes that self-regulated learning and computational inquiry practices are crucial future skills which students need to learn while at school.
Even if you have exclusive access to online learning platforms, like OpenWisdom Online, and therefore have many vetted resources at your fingertips, you may want to conduct online research. This is not only okay, but encouraged! So how can you find information that is accurate and trustworthy?
Mythbusting time
You may have been told that sites like
Wikipedia are evil. That’s not the case, but they’re
definitely not always right. Using these types of sites with
general information as a starting point for research is
fine.
However, you should make sure to follow the links to
more reputable sites so that Wikipedia-esque sites are
not your only source of learning outside the classroom.
Hint: you can usually find them in the references section
at the bottom of the page.
Ideally, you should be visiting sites with web addresses that end in .org and .edu because these sites
belong to educational institutions and established organisations. There are some exceptions to the
rule like KidsNews and BBC Bitesize which offer engaging informative resources for high school
students.
You can also sign up to your local library for free access to subscription-based educational sites
through portals like the Georges River Library eResources site or State Library of NSW.
Photo by Julia M Cameron: https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-writing-on-notebook-4145190/
Check out these other cool sites to get started:
2. Set up a personalised learning system
Everyone hates that feeling – when you’re struggling to find your files for class, or realising you forgot to do your homework when your tutor asks for it. Or even worse, coming home from school and realising that you forgot about your online tutoring session all together.
The best way to avoid that stomach-drop feeling is to keep atop of your learning schedule by building your organisational skills. Being organised might sound overwhelming, but it’s actually pretty easy if you set up some simple systems to keep you on track. Here are two key systems to get you sorted:
Weekly personalised learning schedule
Put together a basic weekly personalised learning schedule. One way to do this is through Google Calendar or the Apple Calendar which you can easily sync to your phone and add reminders to. If you prefer paper, you can download our free wall schedule for your study space.
Three Steps:
First, block out school time, and other non-negotiable commitments, like sport, extracurriculars, work, appointments and events with family and friends. Don’t forget to also block out time to eat, travel time between commitments and sleeping (aim for 8-10 hours).
Next, schedule in your online learning lessons. Make these super clear so you can’t miss them. You might want to assign a different colour to each subject to make them stand out more.
Now, you can schedule your remaining study tasks around these blocks. Aim to schedule in about one hour of homework and another hour for further research per subject your receive tutoring for. Aside from your normal homework commitments for school, the remaining hours are free time!
Whilst self-discipline is beneficial, it’s equally important to keep your schedule flexible. Life is unpredictable and it’s normal for your weekly plans to fluctuate, so don’t stress if you need to shuffle around some components. Just try to maintain a few non-negotiables, like your weekly lesson times. When you’re working behind a screen, you’d be forgiven for getting lost in the sea of content and losing track of time. That’s why scheduling breaks into your online study routine is super important, both for your learning and for your mental health.
Organised learning platform
One of the many benefits of OpenWisdom Online is the ability to upload all the documents you need for your lessons to our online learning platform. Keeping these files organised will mean that you can quickly access all your resources at any time, both in and outside of your lessons.
You can apply this skill to the file organisation you need to do for school as well! From your Google Drive, to your desktop, making sure you have your information sheets, worksheets, booklets and assignments in one easy to access place will take some of the stress out of study.
Nothing beats being organised.
Photo by Junior Teixeira: https://www.pexels.com/photo/semi-opened-laptop-computer-turned-on-on-table-2047905/
3. Use online AI tools to boost your learning
AI can be your friend, not your foe... if you use it well.
Even though you can message your tutor through online learning platforms, like OpenWisdom Online,
there may be times where you need an answer straight away or are stuck with something more minor.
This is where generative AI can come in handy, helping you with basic explanations and even helping
you find the answer yourself through socratic questioning.
If you’re looking for ways to harness this cool tool, head over to our
Insight blog for a more comprehensive guide.
Try out this prompt to get you started:
“Please create a personalised weekly schedule, taking into account the following commitments: [list
the times of your commitments each day].”
Get ready to boost your online learning
With these three easy tips, you’ll be making the most of online learning in no time. Remember, the skills you learn through this experience will set you up with the self-regulated learning skills you’ll need in senior high school and beyond. From using your well-developed digital literacy in university assignments, to harnessing your personal organisation in your future career, you won’t just be studying for English,
Maths or Science, but rather learning life-long skills.
Establishing and building these skills can be challenging, but if you ever have any questions, your
OpenWisdom Online tutor is just one message away.
Photo by George Pak : https://www.pexels.com/photo/three-young-people-studying-together-outdoors-with-laptops-7972948/
