Strategies for Success in Your Online IT Degree
If you dream of a career in information technology (IT), but need a college degree to get started, consider completing an online IT degree program. Online IT degrees are increasingly popular with non-traditional students who need to fit schooling into a schedule already crowded with work, family and a busy social life.
How Online IT Degree Programs Work
It's a common myth that online IT degree programs are less demanding than traditional, on-campus programs. Ask any online degree student and they will tell you this simply isn't true. All the schools on All Computer Schools are accredited by organizations that make sure each school is meeting minimum educational standards. As a student in an accredited online degree program, you will buy the interchangeable textbooks, do the alike assignments and pass the same tests as students at a brick-and-mortar university. You may need to adjust your vision of the classroom experience, however.
See Your Computer as a Classroom
While some school's offering online degrees require that you attend one or more classes on a traditional campus, many online IT degree programs allow you to study 100% from home. This means that your computer acts as a classroom and a lecture hall. Depending on the school, the type of program and technology used, professors may stream live videos, use group discussion forums (such as Blackboard), and engage in video conferencing to help bring the lessons to life, in addition to regular lectures.
Learn to Love Email
The easy access and availability of email make it a great way to connect with your professors and fellow students. Email is often the primary mode of communication for online IT degree programs. Professors send out announcements, accept assignments and answer questions through email. Becoming comfortable with email is a skill that will not only benefit you for the duration of your online IT degree program, but also in your future IT career.
Increase the Value of Your Online Education
Although online learning can be a fun, a flexible and affordable way to earn your IT degree, it takes a lot of hard work and dedication to fit higher education into your schedule. Here are a few tips on how make most of your online degree programs:
Create a Study Nook
Minimize distractions by moving your computer to a quiet, out-of-the-way room or table in your house. Make this space your dedicated school space and let everyone in your house know that this is where you go to study when you don't want to be interrupted. Turn off the TV and radio, and do not surf the web while your classes are in session. Focus is critical to academic success...especially in online education.
Schedule Time for Learning
Whether your online classes are held at regularly scheduled times, each week or are available for you to access at any time of day or night, it is important to carve out time each day to read the textbooks and complete your homework assignments. It's often helpful to study at the same time each day to develop good study habits. A big part of earning your online IT degree involves mastering the material, and the only way to do that successfully is to set time aside every day to focus on your schoolwork.
Don't Be Afraid to Ask for Help
Very few people learn well completely on their own, which is why most online IT degree programs offer ways for you to connect with your professors and fellow students. If you don't understand something, don't be shy about asking for help. Questions and mistakes are a natural part of the learning process. Take full advantage of technologies such as Blackboard, digital forums, instant messaging (IM), email and even the phone to connect and collaborate with others in your IT degree program.
