By Christine (Schuldes) Storlie

1. Print the Course Calendar for each of your courses. Record all the due dates for assignments and exams on your calendar (electronic organizer, cell phone, or paper calendar – or the pocket calendar you may have received from the Distance Learning Center). Set a reminder on your electronic devices to alert you to upcoming due dates.
    
2. At the beginning of the semester, set a specified amount of time each day to work on class assignments. For example, one student found that by designating one hour each day of the week for studying, she was able to keep up with her coursework much better than when she tried to do everything over the weekend. Or, you could set aside two hours every other day, with larger blocks of study time on Saturday and Sunday.
    
3. Work on your written communication skills. Clearly communicating your ideas is imperative in an online course, especially in courses that require group activities. Effective communication is vital to a virtual team’s success. Allow time to review what you say, checking your content as well as grammar and spelling. Set aside enough time to communicate with your instructor, classmates, and group/team members.
    
4. Check the News on the course home page regularly for each of your courses. Instructors often post important announcements such as
   
   • additional information pertaining to course material
   • details regarding expectations for an assignment
   • upcoming deadlines
   • hints or additional information regarding assignments
   Reading messages from others is an important part of the communication process!
   
5. Do not hesitate to ask questions. If the question occurred to you, it is likely that others have the same question and all will benefit.