If you’re interested in learning something new and you’re considering taking an online course in order to do it, you might be feeling excited about the prospect of learning something that you’ve always wanted to know right from the comfort of your own home. However, if you’re unsure about online classes or technology in general, like you might be if you’re currently living in a senior living community, you may also be nervous about this type of learning environment. Luckily, anyone can find success with an online course with the right tools and preparation.

To help you get to this point yourself, here are three tips for taking your first online course. 

Take The Class Seriously

In some situations, an online course may not be your first choice or may be the only course available for you at this time. If this is the case, you might be tempted to not take this kind of education as seriously as you would an in-person course. However, if you take this tact, you might soon find yourself in over your head with your coursework.

Rather than having to backtrack at this point, it’s best to just take your course seriously from the get-go. Try to imagine yourself in an in-person course if this helps you. You can set aside time for reviewing the course work, commit to paying attention during video portions of the course, and more. 

Connect With Your Instructor

Something that can really help if you’re worried about having a hard time with an online course is to connect with your instructor.

While you would see your instructor in person if you were taking an in-person course, the person teaching your course likely wants to be just as involved in your education with online courses as any other teacher does. So if they offer things like online office hours, discussion boards, and their contact information, be sure you use these resources to help you better connect with your instructor, your classmates, and the course material. 

Set A Schedule For Time Management Help

If your online course doesn’t have a set time where your instructor will be doing live instruction, it can sometimes be hard to find time in your day to set aside individual time and attention for your coursework. But if you don’t do this, your education can really suffer.

Knowing this, you should try to set up a schedule for when you’ll work on your coursework so that you can better manage your time and the workload for the online course. Then, if you don’t have enough coursework for the time you’ve set aside, you can take a break rather than having to scrounge up time that you haven’t allotted for the course.

If you’re about to start taking your first online course, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you find success in this endeavor.