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With the globalization of the economy have come many changes. Distance is no longer an obstacle to communication; labour crosses borders; jobs change; and people change jobs frequently. And because of all these changes, lifelong education becomes particularly important in this knowledge-based economy.

But education on-campus at university or college is not possible for many people because jobs or other commitments make it impossible for them to attend on-campus classes. Online learning provides a flexible solution for such people. Unfortunately, many learners enter an online program without realising the problems they need to face. Thus, all too often they are disappointed with their first experience of this new mode of learning. To avoid this, there are six things that the learner should watch out for.

When you study on-campus, other people organise much of your study time. With online learning, you have to organise it yourself. So be organised – manage your time. Set aside a regular time in your diary for study of the material as if you were attending classes. And complete assignments well before the due dates. That way you have time to check them and also avoid those last minute things that go wrong when you’re late. Do not be a poor time manager.

With the world of work and our living environment constantly changing, you need to be constantly learning new ways of doing things. To be successful, you need a desire for life-long learning. And this is precisely what you should have or wish to develop in yourself – a desire to learn.

Unfortunately, many of us were not taught how to learn. Instead we were only taught to remember things and to apply rules. Somewhere along the way we were expected to acquire the skills to acquire knowledge. In today’s world it is essential that we “know how to learn”. In particular, learning online requires that you develop these skills. This not only means having the technical skills of how find books or web sites on a topic, it also means having well-developed critical reading and thinking skills.

For many of us, our school experience has taught us to be “passive learners” – we were told the knowledge, we learned it by rote and then we repeated it in an exam. Passive learning seemed to be a useful strategy for success. Unfortunately, that is not a useful strategy for success in today’s world, or, indeed, in online learning. If you are learning online, the courseware often includes questions, exercises and further reading so that your learning can be active rather than passive. You must make sure that you complete all the exercises and that you thoroughly interact with the material.

Lectures in high school classrooms and in undergraduate classes can all so easily encourage the “passive learning” already referred to. But real learning takes place when you are interacting with the materials and with others. So try to find a learning group, either in your area or online, and exchange ideas regularly. Also, make sure that you respond to all the e-Tutor’s requests for participation in the discussion forums. There may even be a mark allocated for such participation.

Don’t be tempted to buy a qualification from a “diploma mill” – a business that simply prints diplomas and degrees. Such qualifications are worthless in the eyes of employers and genuine educational institutions, so will just be a waste of your money. Always take an accredited program from an accredited institution.

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