Studying Online;Succeeding through Distance Learning at University

10 Getting ready for online study 
to read. Te fact that the lecturing style has persisted tells you a lot 
about the speed of change in education. 
Te online world, though, has led to rapid change, the outdated 
chalk and talk method of lecturing is being abandoned. In its place 
has come a much more interactive style of lecturing, using a range 
of ways of delivering the “content” of the lecture. Tis makes mod-
ern online lectures more engaging than real-world chalk and talk 
lectures. 
Modern online video lectures can include: 
y
Additional notes supplying background on what is being said 
y
Hyperlinks to extra materials, such as interviews with experts 
to expand on what is said in the lecture 
y
Walkthrough demonstrations 
y
Extra audio materials in the form of podcasts, for example 
y
Pictures and illustrations to enhance what is said in the lecture 
y
Interactive features, such as a quiz with instant feedback 
y
Games 
y
Tree-dimensional items 
y
Virtual reality components. 
Tere is so much more to the modern online lecture which helps 
enhance the learning experience. Done well, the best online class-
es make the “chalk and talk” lectures of just a couple of years ago 
seem like they really were from the tenth century. 

ONLINE LEARNING IS NOT ALL 
“TECHNICAL” 
One of the main difculties with studying online is the need to be 
technologically profcient. Even though computer usage is wide-
spread, and many students will have been using mobile phones 
for a decade before starting university, there are still individuals 
who do not like technology or fnd it difcult. Tat can limit the 
beneft of online studying for some students. After all, traditional 

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