While asynchronous online learning works well for many students, it is not without its challenges, and those can be the very same attributes that make it attractive—that’s the paradox of online learning. Students who are balancing multiple responsibilities of jobs, children or aging parents are generally attracted to the anytime/anyplace virtue of online courses, but they may also need the most help in managing all of these things.
Let’s examine the characteristics of online education and how they both enable and constrain learning, plus consider tips for how advisors can help students resolve these tensions.
A Flexible Schedule Requires Structure
Not having to show up at the same place and time as classmates enables students to schedule their schoolwork around their life responsibilities. But for some students, that flexibility can easily turn into missed deadlines.
Advisors can help students establish healthy work habits by sending helpful advice for meeting deadlines before classes begin such as:
- Plan ahead: Get a “lay of the land” of the course by reading the syllabus. Use a planner to indicate major course deadlines, review it regularly and implement steps to meet those deadlines.
- Block out time: Schedule regular time each week to devote to schoolwork and stick to it. Don’t wait for an assignment notification to get started.
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Anywhere Access Benefits From Dedicated Space
The students who are least likely to ask for help are those who need it most.
Mobile learning management apps enable students to do their schoolwork and attend class whenever and wherever they have an internet connection. They can check announcements during work breaks or read discussion posts while waiting for a flight at the airport.
A devoted space can lend itself to learning. If possible, students should find a place that can be dedicated to schoolwork and that provides ideal learning conditions. This means removing distractions like mobile devices and unrelated browser windows, and soliciting the help of friends and family to honor their space.
Autonomy Can Lead to Isolation
Some students need to be explicitly encouraged and supported to express themselves in discussion posts and assignments in an online environment. If students don’t have to talk or be seen, they can slip into feelings of isolation. This can be addressed by setting expectations for engagement and developing students' inquiry skills.
Through the admission process, online orientation, in conversations with advisors, and with course instructors, we can help students understand the value of discussion, engagement, and the cultivation of knowledge through collaboration. It’s essential that we let them know that they do have something valuable to say.
But simply saying so doesn’t make it easy for students to express themselves; for instance, asking questions is a learned skill. Advisors can coach their students in how to approach an instructor and how to frame a question that gets at what they need.
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Finally, proactive outreach to students goes a long way to let them know that they are not in this alone. Advisors are there to encourage, guide, coach and navigate students toward additional learning resources. After all, the students who are least likely to ask for help are those who need it most. A robust communication plan entails proactive outreach to new students as well as to students who are showing signs of struggling academically.
Successfully managing the paradox of online learning requires a both/and mindset. It requires human contact: listening, inviting, encouraging, and connecting. Admissions counselors, academic advisors and coaches, instructors, program directors, and anyone else who interacts with students play a role in managing expectations and providing support.
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