When I was around ten years old, my dad got a new job that required us to move from Texas to Saudi Arabia. The first two years there were great, I had lots of friends, played sports, and had really good grades! However, all of that changed when my mom felt that I was performing below grade level in Math and English. As a result, she enrolled me in a homeschooling program. At first, I was devastated because I did not want to say goodbye to sports, friends, and teachers, but, all of that changed when I got my placement results back.
I had unfortunately tested BEHIND grade-level in English and Mathematics. I was supposed to be in seventh-grade at the time but tested at a sixth-grade level. Fortunately, thanks to the home-schooling program and my mother, I got back into the same grade level, but, the hardest part of transitioning from regular school to home-schooling was getting used to online learning. Now that we are all in quarantine and students are doing school online, I want to share tips on how to succeed in online learning.
Tip #1: Learn how to manage your time
This is a hard and important tip. When I first started homeschooling, I did not know how to manage my time properly. I would continuously procrastinate, end up missing assignments, and not have enough time for studying. Ways that you can better manage your time is to use a planner to create daily plans, and record due dates and tests, set time limits, and to plan ahead. I also recommend using the website Monday.com. This website allows you to put your class schedule, assignments, and due dates into one workspace. Doing these things helped me stay on top of all of my school work and receive straight As!
Tip #2: Use resources to your advantage
Resources can include textbooks, study materials, and even your teacher/professor! During my first year of homeschooling, I did not use all the resources that were given to me. Instead of using online quizzes, flashcards, and lesson questions, I just picked out random information from the online reading and ended up studying information that wasn’t even on the test! So before you start a class, check if your teacher/professor has any additional resources that will help you in the course.
Tip #3: Take your education into your own hands.
This is the MOST important tip on this list. This applies to both parents, who have young kids, and older students. You cannot expect someone to teach you. Unfortunately, not all teachers/professors teach according to the different needs of every student and this can result in a slow or more difficult learning process. If my mom had not taken control of my education, I would STILL be a grade level behind. Ways you can take your education into your own hands is to learn concepts that you did not understand in school by using online resources. Below, I will list my favourite online resources for each subject!
Math: Khan Academy
Science: Kurzgesagt-In a Nutshell (Youtube)
English: Purdue Writing Lab
Spanish: Duolingo
History: Crash Course (Youtube)
I hope this helps everyone who is still trying to get the hang of online learning. Thanks for reading, and remember, stay safe!
Zane is a high school junior from Houston, Texas that goes to ISchool High and does dual-credit classes at Lone Star College. Her favourite subjects are science, specifically biology, chemistry, environmental science, and algebra. After high school, she plans on getting a degree in Chemical Engineering and using that degree to make products environmentally safe and develop solutions to environmental problems.
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