You’ve finally found an online course that promises to teach you something that you are wanting to learn.
Though even if the course is 14/10 amazing, you may not find the results you are looking for – and it may be because of you!
After taking hundreds of online courses, I put together a list of things you can do to get the most out of a course while you are taking it. Let’s get started!
Actually Practice or Do The Thing You Are Learning
The #1 problem I have personally faced when taking an online course is literally just not doing or implementing what the course is teaching me.
I think it’s in part because I can sometimes be lazy, I sometimes think I already understand the concept and don’t need to practice it, or even that I just want to keep learning before I start to practice.
It’s such a difficult thing to do sometimes, but I’ve begun changing my mindset to actually doing the action items and homework assigned. And, if they don’t have these implemented in the course, I come up with my own.
Whenever you finish the course or even a module in the course, use what you have learned to create something.
Take Amazing Notes While Watching
One great way to remember big concepts from a course you’ve taken is to take notes while watching, especially jotting down the amazing quotes the instructor has while teaching.
Every once in a while, and sometimes multiple times in a single video, the instructor will give an incredibly insightful quote or idea that you will want to write down and remember. For me personally, I like writing these one-liners on notecards to reference later to remind myself of the feeling and lesson that was around that concept.
If there is a really cool quote, I even like making full-size posters out of them to help give me a daily reminder of the line that will add value to me daily.
Take notes while watching the course and keep an eye out for amazing quotes to write down
Double the Speed and Minimize the Distractions
I began watching educational materials at 2x speed and believe it has really helped me pay attention more and digest the knowledge better.
By changing the video speed to 2x, I’m forced to listen more intently. Sometimes, for speakers that naturally talk quickly, I adjust it to 1.5, but 2x is a nice sweet spot for me.
I’ve noticed also that, when playing the course at 2x speed, I can’t listen to the course in the background and must eliminate all distractions. This means turning my phone on do not disturb, closing all other tabs, and getting my notebook out.
Eliminate all distractions and watch the course’s video speed at a faster playback speed
Now What?
I’ve covered three main ways you can get more out of an online course you are taking. Frankly, these aren’t secrets and are pretty obvious.
Even so, doing these things, like applying what you have learned, taking solid notes, and eliminating distractions while increasing video playback speed, will help you see an immediate increase in the quality of learning you’ll get from the online course.
What did I miss? What are some things you like to do in order to learn from online courses better? Let me know here.
I hope you enjoyed this article and happy learning!
