Top 5 Tips for Helping Your Online Student

As a parent, you should play an active role in reinforcing study habits that lead to success. Online teachers determine your child’s needs, develop individualized learning plans and handle instruction. One of your major roles is to support your child in becoming an independent online learner.

So as you monitor your child’s progress and seek opportunities to maximize their academic success, the following are five easy tips that you can use to make sure your child is learning effectively at home:

1. Help your student develop time management skills

Students attending online school have a greater flexibility when it comes to how they spend their time. With this flexibility, the skill of time management comes into play. Students still have to balance their school work and other commitments on a daily basis. As an online student, they are accountable for getting their work done on time. Recommend to your child that they use a planner to schedule out their assignment due dates and monitor their progress accordingly to determine how you need to support them.

2. Help your student engage in active learning

Active learning is an important skill for any school environment. For students, the ability to monitor comprehension of a new idea/concept/process is crucial to success. Students may be tempted to put frustrating concepts behind them, but in reality, that tough concept may be the basis of the entire course or maybe that concept will be revisited in future courses. In order to fully succeed, students should always ask themselves, ‘Do I GET this?’ As their parent, don’t hesitate to ask that same question to them.

3. Encourage your student to seek help from teachers

Teachers are trained to help breakdown concepts and explain them in ways that text does not always do. Encourage your child to reach out to his/her teachers for assistance with a difficult concept. If your child still is having difficulty, encourage them to let their teacher know what issues they are having with the lesson. Teachers are very sympathetic to the needs of their students (and parents), and will put in a great effort to assist them (and you).

4. Promote collaboration with fellow classmates

Most online programs have a platform for students to communicate with each other, regardless of geographical location. Class message boards and an internal email system are a few ways that schools offer students the chance to contact other students. Your child may find it helpful to be able to ask questions of a fellow classmate. Alternately, they may also find that their understanding of a concept grows as they explain it to another student. As such, suggest to your child that they locate peers for support.

5. Keep your student motivated

Students need to be prepared to be challenged and to grow in their understanding and skills. As with any school, it is important for students to remind themselves the reasons why they are pursuing an education. Self-motivation is important—it is the basis for developing time management skills, being aware of active learning, initiating contact with teachers and fellow students and for moving forward toward a goal. While students should be reminding themselves to stay focused, don’t hesitate, as their parent, to say a few words of encouragement and give them reminders to keep them on the right track.

For more information on how you can help your online learner, visit us at www.GreatLakesCyberAcademy.com or call 855-464-4522.