Are You Keeping Yourself From Online Learning Success?

Online learning is becoming increasingly popular, but not all students get the same value or success out of an online course. In my experience as an online learning provider for dog sports, most people fall into one of five categories. Are you a Cathie, Wilma, Pattie, Susan, or Louise?

How Can Cathie Get Cracking?

Most people probably have a little Cathie in them. I know I have “a few” business courses on my hard drive that I haven’t touched (yet!). So how can Cathie go from a Collector to a Completer?

• Revisit the course description to remind yourself of how the course can help you.
• Stop beating yourself up. A big percentage of the people who purchase online courses across all industries never finish them.
• Schedule time to work through the material just like you would for an in-person course.
• Avoid overwhelming yourself by trying to do it all at once. Set a specific amount of time for both learning and implementing what you’ve learned. You don’t have to do it all in one day.
• The hardest part of any journey is taking the first step. Set a date, set your timer, and start learning!

How Can Wilma Win?

When Wilma enrolls in a course, she should take advantage of all the resources offered in the course. Good instructors provide lots of different options for motivation, different learning styles, and accountability. Here’s how Wilma can win:

• Set goals for herself so she has target dates for each section.
• Participate in the group so she feels like she has more support.
• Find an accountability buddy! Not only will it give her motivation to do the work, but it will make her feel less alone. She can find someone in the group or invite a friend to take the class with her.
• Decide on a small reward to give herself when each goal is met.

How Can Susan Score?

Susan’s situation isn’t unusual for people in online courses. Some people are too embarrassed to admit that they are stuck, don’t want to ask “dumb questions” of the instructor, or think it is easier to just find an answer online. However, experienced instructors have probably seen the same issue with other students, and have proven solutions that would fix her problem. If Susan wants to succeed, she should:

• Review the progress she has made so far to give her motivation to keep going.
• Take another look at the course materials to see if the instructor has included any troubleshooting hints.
• Look over the group comments – someone else may have asked about the same roadblock.
• Ask the instructor! Most people who teach really want their students to succeed and are happy to answer questions, whether in a group setting or through email or private messages.
• Make a mental plan for the next time she gets stuck so she can immediately implement it when she gets to the next obstacle.

How Can Pattie Progress?

Most online courses are designed to teach the “what, why, and how” so that students can learn the material and continue using it and improving their skills long after the course is over. If Pattie quits as soon as she gets to the end of the course, she’s not gaining everything from the course that she could. How can Pattie continue to make progress after the course is over?

• Use a weekly training planner and schedule training tasks from the course on an ongoing basis.
• Create a set of “Training Cards” with an exercise from the course on each one. When Pattie is planning to train, she can grab a few cards to help her decide what to work on.
• Get back into the group and participate. Sharing ongoing improvements with a group of like-minded learners can help her maintain her motivation.
• Track her progress in a training planner or journal. Seeing how far she has come since the beginning of the course can help propel her into continuing to improve.

How Can We Be Like Louise?

Louise is the student we all wish we could be. When she buys a course, she gets every last cent of her money’s worth out of it by learning the skills, continuing to practice them, and applying them to her sport. How can we lean in like Louise?

• Make a plan. Set aside time not only for going through the course, but also for implementing what was learned.
• Set goals. Decide on larger goals related to finishing all of the course materials and implementing them in competition, and smaller goals for finishing individual modules, training skills, and achieving milestones toward the finished product.
• Review your progress. When you’re wrapped up in doing the work, sometimes it is hard to remember where you started. Make a conscious effort to look back and give yourself credit for how far you’ve come.
• Participate in the group. Groups are valuable places to get accountability, answers to your questions, and celebrations of accomplishments. Being active in the group can help keep you motivated, and remind you that you aren’t alone on your journey.
• Reward yourself. While gaining skills can be its own reward, sometimes a little extra motivation helps drive us to success. Positive reinforcement works on people too! Watch that movie you’ve been wanting to see when you are halfway through. Buy that pretty collar you’ve been eyeing when you finish the course materials.

Getting the Most From Your Online Dog Training Course

The five types of online learning students all have different approaches to learning, and therefore a varying degree of success. While being a lifelong learner like Louise takes effort, there are strategies that can help students stay focused, motivated, and on track. With the right planning and support, any student taking an online course can be successful in their journey to lifelong learning.

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