With almost every area of our lives getting turned upside-down because of this year’s pandemic, university teaching has drastically changed. It can be difficult to get used to online learning and keep yourself motivated to continue studying. However, don’t give up just yet! Make use of these tips and you will be able to improve your learning experience during the pandemic.
The importance of time management
One of the most important aspects of staying up to speed with your online course is to improve your time management skills. Without a motivating factor that a brick and mortar university provides, many medical students can get sidetracked during their classes. If you have ever found yourself browsing your social media during a Zoom meeting or playing video games during an online lecture – these are the signs that you need to really work on your time management skills!
Without a teacher to remind you about the upcoming assignments, it is up to you to keep a schedule. Online classes can give you a lot of flexibility when it comes to creating that schedule, but it can be very difficult to do so, especially if you lack motivation. To improve your time management skills, put aside an hour or two every week to create a weekly time plan. In that plan, make note of all of the upcoming deadlines for assignments and allot enough time to finish them – and preferably not the day before the deadline! Designate enough hours for studying and reading for your classes, and make sure to commit to that routine every week.
Get rid of distractions
Many medical students get sidetracked during their online classes, not paying attention to the teacher and doing something entirely different on their computers. It may sound fun to watch a Netflix show or scroll through your social media feed during your online classes, but you will only get more and more behind your studies that way. One of the qualities that make a great student during the pandemic is the ability to ignore these distractions and focus on what’s important.
Instead of allowing online learning to worsen your studying experience, make use of the opportunities it creates. If calm, soothing music helps you relax and focus, you can listen to it during your online classes – something that most probably wouldn’t work with traditional classes. If you find too many distractions at home, take your laptop and go to a local coffee shop for your classes. That way you can escape the distracting environment of your home and keep yourself focused on learning.
Make sure to keep any unnecessary tabs and programs closed during your classes, as they are sure to distract you. Keep your hands off of the mouse and keyboard when not necessary and take notes just like you would during a traditional class. If you are making notes on your computer instead, make sure you don’t keep switching between making notes and entertainment all the time. If you’re not writing, listen closely to your teacher!
Take advantage of various learning apps
You don’t have to do everything yourself! With a handy learning app on hand, you can stay ahead of the curriculum by improving the efficiency of your studying. It can get difficult to study on your own for examinations and quizzes, and learning apps will help you organize your knowledge and remember the material better. Some such as daisie app will help you to learn photography, music, design, arts, films and more online through professionals trainers. Scheduling apps can also be very helpful, allowing you to keep a tight time management plan and keeping you motivated with push notifications and reminders.
When revising for an exam, allow QUPI to help you! QUPI is the world’s largest database of medical exam questions, created by medical students for medical students. Out of all medical school apps, QUPI provides the most extensive bank of practice questions, with over 10,000 user-generated questions and more appearing every day. With QUPI, you can create personalized quizzes that will help you keep up to speed with all the material that you will be required to know for your medical exams. On QUPI, you will find questions specifically created for all major medical exams around the world, such as the USMLE or the MCCQE.