Online study has become a really popular way to achieve degrees and other advanced qualifications, and using online tutorials and training courses is also the most accessible way to pick up new skills or learn new things when you want to.
With the pandemic causing most people to have a lot more time at home than usual that they want to spend productively, many more people are looking to online lectures and lessons as a way to spend their time improving themselves or even retraining for a potential new career. Equally, a lot of students who were previously attending courses at schools and colleges, are now having to take their lessons online due to the measures in place to combat the spread of the coronavirus.
If you are somebody who is trying to study something online by watching videos or taking part in lessons that are held with online meeting apps like Zoom, then you may well have already noticed that listening properly and paying attention when you are at home can be quite different to when you are in a formal lesson. Here, we take a look at some ways you can set yourself up to listen as well as possible during your online study:
Make Sure You’re Comfortable
As this article about listening explains, there are a lot of factors around you and within your own body that can have an effect on how well you can listen. The good news is, that when you are at home, you have more control over these than you do when you are in other situations where you want to listen to somebody speak for a long period of time. You should ensure that the chair you are sitting in is comfortable and that you aren’t hungry, thirsty, or in pain when you start to study. If you are hungry, need to go to the bathroom, or are generally otherwise distracted by comfort issues, then you should address these things as soon as you notice them rather than trying to continue studying. You’ll pay far better attention after a glass of water, a snack or a comfort break than you will if you try to push through.
Avoid Distracting Noise
You also want to make sure that you aren’t being distracted by noise or other people. If you don’t live alone, or you have children who are prone to distracting you when you are trying to concentrate, then it can be a good idea to let the people around you know not to disturb you for a fixed amount of time while you study. If people know that you are doing something that is important to you rather than simply browsing around on your computer, they may well realize that they shouldn’t try to get your attention while you’re busy.
If you can’t get someone else to watch your children while you study, then you may be better off planning your study sessions for when they are asleep, rather than attempting to pay attention to your course while also keeping an eye on them. If the noise that is distracting you is something that you can’t do anything about, for instance noise from neighbors or from outside, then consider using noise canceling headphones to listen to your course materials.
Be Aware of Your Own Attention Span
Your natural attention span can fluctuate depending on how tired you are, what else you have going on, and even seemingly just randomly. Don’t ask too much of yourself when it comes to planning out your study times. Just because you have the time available to watch five straight hours of lectures, that doesn’t mean you will be able to properly follow and understand that much talking in one sitting! Be aware of how you are feeling as you are studying, and when you feel yourself beginning to reach the limits of your attentiveness, and starting to lose focus, make sure you take a break.
You may well find that your attention span for listening to online lectures or watching videos is shorter than you expect. This is because we tend to be able to pay attention for longer during things that are interactive, such as conversations or lessons where we are also required to switch from listening to doing exercises. This means that just because you were used to being attentive for long meetings or lessons you were attending in person, you may not be able to hold your concentration for as long during the passive activity of listening to online course materials. This is not a problem, as you can restore your energy for listening by taking breaks, but it is something to be aware of when you are planning sessions and studying.
Make Your Breaks Work for You
It is also important to ensure that the breaks you take involve doing things that will recharge your attention span, rather than deplete it further. If you use your breaks from online study to remain on your computer checking social media or reading the news, this will not refresh you ready for the next session as well as getting away from your desk and doing something different. Getting some exercise, cooking, taking a bath, calling someone for a chat, or going outside if you can, can all be good ways to use short breaks to recharge your focus ready for more listening.
You can also take breaks from listening without taking breaks from working on your study, by mixing in different types of study for different sections of your session. Switching from passive activities like listening and reading to those that require you to engage more, e.g. talking to someone else about what you just learned, or doing a different activity related to your studies like writing something or completing exercises, will allow you to feel more ready to listen again when you return to the lectures.
These are a few ways you can improve how effective you are at listening during your online study. Good luck with whatever you are trying to learn!
