Studying Online;Succeeding through Distance Learning at University

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Preparing for online study 37 
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SELECTING THE RIGHT SOFTWARE 
Tere will be little choice for many students in terms of the soft-
ware you will use for your studies. Tis is because the university 
will have an online teaching, learning, and assessment system that 
will require all students to use the software provided. In many in-
stances, this will be an ofce suite, such as Microsoft Ofce 365. 
Before you begin your online studies, it is a good idea to fnd out 
from your university if they are going to provide you with a sub-
scription to an ofce programme. Tis will avoid you needing to 
buy the software yourself. Also, by asking in advance of your stud-
ies, it will allow you to familiarise yourself with the software you 
have to use, as you should be able to get a trial version before you 
begin studying. If your university does not provide you with ofce 
software, such as a word processor, then make sure you check out 
the student discounts available. Many software publishers provide 
education discounts, but you may have to hunt for them on their 
websites. Also, organisations like UNiDAYS and Student Beans 
provide access to discounted software, so they are also worth 
checking out. 
Another piece of software that you will have no choice but to 
use will be the Virtual Learning Environment or VLE. Tis is 
like the “central station” for your online studies, where you will 
fnd each of the modules, your assignments, study resources, 
and general university information. Tere are several standard 
VLE packages available, and your university will use one such 
as Moodle, Blackboard, or Canvas. Before your studies begin, 
fnd out which system is used by your university. You will then 
be able to watch some introductory videos about the software 
on YouTube. Tat way, you will familiarise yourself with the pro-
gram before your studies begin, giving you a head start. It is 
worthwhile getting to know the VLE software. Every year I have 
students who have not bothered to get to grips with it. Ten, 
they call me in a panic as they cannot fnd something, or at the 
last minute realise they don’t know how to submit their assign-
ment. Getting to know the VLE in advance will help you avoid 
such stressful situations. 

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