Ask Dr. Diane – Today’s Question About: Online College Student’s Learning Style
Ask Dr. Diane – Today’s Question About: Online College Student’s Learning Style
I am happy to answer questions about online learning, understanding personalities, careers and job changing, personal finance, and more . . . To see the list of things I write about, see the categories to the right.
Today’s question: In an online-learning system, how do you identify visual and verbal learning styles, and then what is the right method to use. Maybe you can give me the information and recommendations about it. Thanks.
There are several instruments (tests) that can be taken to give you an idea of your preferred style of learning. You may have heard of VARK, Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory (ELT), or The Index of Learning Styles .
Although it is the most helpful to do so, you don’t necessarily have to take a formalized test to know which of the styles best fits you. A student can try several different methods of learning to see which of them provides the most benefit.
Some clues that you might be a visual learner would be if you like to:
- Highlight or underline things to remember them
- Prefer to re-write notes you have taken to better remember them
- Find charts or graphs helpful
- Find flashcards helpful
Some clues that you might be better with verbal learning would be if you like to:
- Talk about what you have learned
- Do well with audio books or like to record lectures
- Read out loud to listen to questions asked and hear your answers given.
- Like study groups
The following site offers a free learning assessment: http://www.learning-styles-online.com. This site could be a good starting place to give you a idea of what your style is and to suggest ideas of things you can do to help you learn based upon your preferred style.
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Thanks for the great question!
Top Questions New Online Students Ask
Distance ed students forming college clubs online – USATODAY.com
By Steve Kolowich, Inside Higher EdFeeling isolated as an online student? Join the club.Or rather, join a club. At a handful of institutions, students working toward degrees online are meeting outside of class via the Web. These extracurricular organizations offer online students what many feel they are missing: the social and professional opportunities that historically have been part of the college experience.
“When you’re on campus, you have opportunities to engage your faculty and your peers,” says Debra Ann Mynar, 39, an online psychology student at Pennsylvania State University‘s World Campus. “When you do distance education, you don’t have those similar opportunities unless you make them.”
Some online college students may feel like they are all alone out there. This article by USA Today explains that there are some things that online learners can do to connect with other students. I set up chat rooms, in my individual classes that I teach, where students can interact. I see some students who feel at ease starting up a conversation . . . while others are more timid. I have noticed some of the schools are including more ways for students to become more visible to one another by allowing them to post profiles with pictures. Due to the popularity of social networking, there is no reason an online student should feel alone. I like sites I have seen from schools like the University of Colorado where students can blog about their experiences online. I hope more students who desire interaction take advantage of these sites or set up social networking connections on their own to become connected.