In previous years, if you wanted to attain a degree or earn a certification it meant physically showing up at in-person classes and this was challenging for working professionals or those with busy schedules.
Thanks to improved technology, it’s simple to find an online programme which offers the flexibility you need. As you probably know, there are many positives to online training courses; you can learn whenever, wherever (if you have an internet connection and however works best for you).
However online classes do present some challenges if you are not prepared. For this reason, we’ve produced a guide with top tips for effective online training to make sure you get the most value out of your next course.
1. Have a Dedicated Study Space to Maintain Focus and Eliminate Distraction
Having a designated workspace will benefit you massively when undertaking online training courses. First of all, a designated workspace will help you stay organised.
Having a clean and organised workstation will eliminate distraction and help you keep focused on the single training course. Make sure that within your workstation, you have enough pens, paper, extra study books and so on, to equip you to go all in on the training course.
A designated workstation will help eliminate distractions such as phones ringing in the background, colleagues speaking loudly and television noise etc. If possible, place your phone away from your workstation to prevent the temptation to check it every now and then, as this can throw your focus and concentration. This may cause you to miss out on important information within the training course.
2. Make Sure You Have Access to a Reliable Internet Connection
This is an obvious one as you need internet connection to undertake online training courses. However, if even you have access to the internet, but the connection isn’t very strong this should be rectified.
If your internet connection isn’t reliable and it causes the online training to slow down, cut off or buffer, then this will frustrate you and prevent you from maintaining focus when undertaking the course.
3. Identify Your Objectives and Criteria Before Tackling the Online Course
Before undertaking the online training course, map out your objectives and criteria. In doing this, you will have a clear vision on what to look out for and what to focus your attention on.
For example, if you were undertaking a manual handling training course and you identified one of your objectives was to understand the correct technique for lifting, when going through the course you can look out for this information and take detailed notes and ensure you have covered the subject fully.
Daily goals should also be set if the online training course runs over multiple days. In doing this, you can structure your learning time to ensure you can cover everything and allow yourself enough time to take in all the information. Having daily goals will ensure you keep on track, instead of procrastinating.
4. Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for Help When You Need It
When undertaking online courses, sometimes it may be difficult to completely understand all parts of the course, without external help. With classroom learning, if you don’t understand part of the course, you have access to a tutor who can help you straight away.
When it comes to online learning, people think that they have to take all the information on by themselves and tackle it all alone, however this isn’t the case.
If you encounter a roadblock when undertaking your online training course, be sure to reach out and ask for help. This may be a simple search into google and finding groups or forums. It also may be the case of contacting the online training provider and asking for their assistance.
This is something that we can offer with the online training courses here at Wurkplace. If you were undertaking one of our courses and didn’t understand part of it, we are happy for our trained professionals to assist and advise you.
5. Be Sure to Take Study Breaks
Like anything, resting your brain is crucial to maintain a high standard of work. This is very important when undertaking online training courses.
Not only do you need to rest your brain due to constantly taking on new information and focusing all your attention on one subject, you also need to give your eyes a break due to staring at a screen for a long amount of time. Simply taking a step away from your computer, going for a walk or talking face to face with someone will give you that break you need.
You will then be able to continue working through the course at a high standard, giving yourself the best chance of passing.
6. Review Your Notes, Revise Your Notes and Repeat the Process
When working through your online training course, you will be actively taking notes. At first these notes may be vague and sometimes you may not fully understand what the notes cover. This is why it is vital that you go back through your notes to make sure they are accurate and you fully understand what you have written.
A revision of your notes may be necessary if you feel you have incorrectly understood a subject or you have missed out some important information, this is completely fine. This process of reviewing and revising your notes should be repeated and remain consistent throughout the whole online training course.
This will help ensure you maximize your understanding of the subject at hand. With the online training courses provided here at Wurkplace, our advice is as follows. Watch the video allocated to the module once in full.
Then re-watch the video, taking notes on important information, pausing the video where needed to ensure no information is missed. After this is done for each module, you should review your notes and revise where necessary. Then when you feel confident, progress onto the latter end of the course where you are asked multiple questions
7. Stay Motivated Throughout
Having no tutor with you or other students undertaking the course beside you, may cause you to lose motivation. However, it is important that you maintain your full motivation, giving 100% throughout the course.
A good way to keep motivated throughout the entirety of your online training course is to keep looking at your objectives and criteria for the course and see how far you have progressed. This will fill you with confidence and you will be inspired to complete the remainder of the course.
You may have a tendency to lose focus when working through the online training course. If this is the case, when you feel yourself starting to lose focus, you should take a break, reset, and go back to the course when you feel ready. In doing this, you will ensure all your attention is focused on the online training course.
As you are reading this article, you are probably interested in taking online training courses. We have an extensive collection of CPD accredited online training courses available on our website. With direct phone lines and support available through live chat, you can’t go wrong.
As a Managing Director at Wurkplace since May 2010, Karen has extensive HR, employment law and health and Safety experience from working within the private sector.
She also boasts experience of working in the public sector including local authority, fire service, police, schools, colleges, charities, NHS.