Top Ten Practices of Successful Distance Ed Students

Really great distance ed students follow a set of best practices that give them consistent results. These students turn in reliable performances in their courses that yield solid understanding and good grades. Here are the top ten best practices of highly successful distance ed students.

1. Preparing for exams from day one. Highly successful students begin the course with the end in mind. They make plans that include milestones (like chapters read) and goals (such as scores) and deadlines (like those for papers and exams). Milestones are mapped directly on to calendars. When there are extra requirements, great students take care of the details early to prevent hassles and slip-ups later on.

2. Knowing that open-book doesn't mean easier. Truly outstanding students know that the point of education is learning. They study like their careers depend on understanding the facts and the meaning of the material. Even when exams or quizzes are open-book, great students approach the assessments as learning tools to help them gauge what they do and don't understand. When they run into snags, they use those as incentive to shore up the weaknesses in their understanding.

3. Formulating and asking questions about the material. Great students look for areas of confusion and think carefully about what they do and don't understand. Once they identify an issue that is confusing, they ask questions that include enough information that the instructor can see what part of the student's understanding may have gone awry or where a logical connection may be missing. Great students stay focused on the material at hand and avoid getting off on tangents or bunny trails. Finally, the best students assist fellow students by engaging in discussion and answering each other's questions. When students help each other, instructors can see and correct misunderstandings and strengthen areas where students may be having difficulty.

4. Staying on top of weekly assignments by setting and keeping appointments for study. Great students know they have to set boundaries on their time and guard those closely. There is a big difference between how long certain tasks take and how much time a student actually has to do the work. Terrific students work efficiently in the time they have available and are always prepared to review or read material at a moment's notice. They take advantage of every extra moment to do their best and think about what they are learning.

5. Screening out distractions like email and web surfing. Genuine excellence is a by-product of self-discipline. The best students know how to stay on task without getting pulled away by email or games. These students know that their education depends on their ability to shut their doors and say 'no' to the irrelevant and 'yes' to the important.

6. Googling for tutorials. Good students possess initiative. They don't wait around for someone to tell them what to do or to provide them with information. When a good student finds something that's not well-explained, the first thing they do is Google for a tutorial. These students have a healthy skepticism about information they find on web pages and they look for source material provided by reputable sites. When they are in doubt about something they've found, they ask their professor to clarify what they've learned.

7. Reading the policies and materials the professor provides. Highly successful students are thorough and pay attention to details. They print and review all the material and policies posted by their professors. When they start to wonder about exams or grading, they know that it's likely the information they need is already at their fingertips. When they see a post or announcement, they read it carefully because they realize that their professor is telling them something they need to know.

8. Planning for life and expecting the unexpected. Distance education students know that life happens. For that reason, successful students decide how they'll handle rough patches before those situations occur. By staying ahead of the game, obstacles don't derail truly great students. If truly terrible circumstances arrive, great students have already demonstrated good performances and have taken the time to get to know their professors so they possess the initiative and rapport to ask for assistance in getting through their tough times.

9. Obtaining reliable internet access. Good students assess the technology they have available for their courses. Highly successful students know that they can't do well in their courses if they have ultraslow or unreliable connections. These students enroll in courses when they know they'll have few extra demands on their time, not when they're moving to a new home or when their computer is on the fritz.

10. Making phone or IM appointments with their professors to ask questions and clarify understanding. High performers take advantage of virtual office hours to ask questions and get detailed explanations from their instructors. When professors offer phone appointments, these students sign up and make calls promptly. Highly successful students know that their professor's time is valuable and they come into appointments with specific questions prepared. They take notes and follow up calls with emails to demonstrate that they are making a genuine effort to learn and grow professionally.

Highly successful distance ed students know that e-learning is a flexible and powerful tool for education and career advancement. With these best practices, any student can emulate great students and get similar results.