How Do I Learn?
How Do We Learn Best-Online or Offline?
Whether we learn online or off, it is often our choice. Some learn better one way than another, and there are also those who do well with a combination of the two learning types. Sometimes it depends on what kind of learner we are. For example, visual learners do well with online classes as well as with offline classes that consist of the use of many graphics and visual organizers.
Who Learns Best Online?
Students who learn best online are those who can work well independently. Yet that is also true with offline learners as well as with all learners in general.
Many types of learners exist. Some people learn better visually, while others are auditory or kinesthetic learners. All learner types can do well online. For those who like to type, or those who like to look at pictures, their learning style can certainly be enhanced online. Auditory learners may do well by taking the time to pay careful attention to the speaker and what they hear in their online classrooms. The teachers can adapt the instruction to the specific learning style of the students. Most people learn well through a combination of the learning styles. Students learn well when they and their teachers understand how they learn best and through which learning styles they are more likely to do well.
Some learners do well learning alone, while others do better in a larger classroom or even a small group setting. How your online learning classroom is set up will dictate how well you do when learning online. Some people do well by learning what others say, and learn more from the other students than they sometimes do from their teachers. Students like these will learn best by being involved in collaborative instruction as well as doing group projects.
Students with disabilities might do well online since it could be a more comfortable setting for them. Some students do not have to leave their home, while other students may have online instruction as part of their school day, or they may have their online class while located at a learning center. How you learn best is the type of learning you should try to of course target. Yet it is also a good idea to challenge yourself and your mind. Your brain works better if you try to do different things than you normally do. Brain-based instruction tells us that we can and should try to get ourselves to do things we normally do not do. If we do the same things each and every day, our brains are not stimulated. So surprise your brain and challenge yourself! If you have never taken an online class, try it at least once. If you always learn online only, spread out your experiences and try something else, such as in class instruction, or a combination of both online and face-to-face learning. It might be fun! You never know what you might learn. Above all, remember to keep variety in your life to stimulate your brain and keep the learning going!
Never stop learning. When you stop learning, you stop living. Always challenge yourself, and always try to do your best. In order to succeed in online learning, it is best to start slow and not try to do too much at once. Be kind to yourself and realize that you can only do your best. Have a good attitude toward learning and you will do well.
Students Who Learn Best Online
Not all students fair well with learning online. Some do well with a combination of both online and face-to-face instruction. Those who do well with online learning tend to work well independently, although such skills can be instilled in a student through online instruction. Visual learners can do well online, depending on the quality and availability of visuals contained in the instructional process. English Language Learners, too can do well online if visuals and pictoral representations are used as part of the instruction. This provides new language learners with the opportunity to see objects, which gives them just one more way to make the connect to the new word and the new language that they are learning. Students who like to work alone do well online, as well as those who might feel uncomfortable meeting at a school, a center, or being ridiculed in front of others in the traditional type of classroom.
Most any student can do well learning online if they have the will and the right attitude about this type of instruction. If a student feels that learning online is the easy way out, they are mistaken. Online learning can at times be more demanding. Learning online can be a type of learning that needs the student to already have technological, computer and typing skills in their possession, but such learning is also an excellent way to hone and develop these skills that are so necessary in today's world.