Studying Online;Succeeding through Distance Learning at University

QUICK TIP: Form a video study group so that you can call each 
other on your phones and then watch an online video at the 
same time on your laptops.This joint viewing will improve your 
engagement with the recordings you watch. 

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120 Studying online 

GeT a Good Webcam 
When you are studying at a distance online, you will be expected to 
participate in online tutorials, seminars, and workshops. You will 
need a good camera if you are to make the most of your years as 
an online student. Most laptops come with a built-in camera these 
days. Tis makes them convenient as you do not need additional 
equipment. However, the webcams built into the edge of a laptop 
screen are not always high quality. Tis results in a poor image of 
you for the other people taking part in the online sessions. Tis 
may not seem to be of great importance. After all, they can see 
you, just not clearly. Imagine, though, you were in a face-to-face 
class on campus, and you could not see the other people in the 
room clearly. You would fnd it challenging to engage with them. 
Te same is true online. If people cannot see each other clearly, it 
is more difcult to work with them. Indeed, in a study that includ-
ed a comparison of laptop webcam use with high defnition (HD) 
cameras in video calls, people found the laptop cameras did not 
give them a good sense of sharing a space with other individuals 
(Aaltonen et al., 2009). Tis suggests that low-quality webcam use 
makes people feel more distant from one another. Tat is not going 
to be good for you or your fellow students if you are going to be 
doing a large number of online video calls during the 2–4 years of 
your degree. As outlined in Chapter 2, you really need a separate 
webcam, regardless of what your laptop provides. A high-quality 
webcam will improve your visibility for other students. It will also 
reduce the lag between your contribution and when other people 
see your input. Plus, good webcams have much better sync be-
tween image and sound.