Distance Learning has its own unique challenges.  You will never have face to face contact with your tutor and your classmates will also be virtual.

Here are 10 helpful tips and hints to make the most out of your course:

1. Be positive, enthused and focused – no matter what course you have selected it is for your own personal development and is a positive step forward to achieving your goals.
2. When you receive your new course materials its worth taking time to have a look through them in order to gauge the full scope.  At this point it’s useful to divide the assignments into manageable sections, so you never feel overwhelmed at any point.  Breaking your studies into achievable chunks gives you piece of mind.
3. Set up a study timetable and try to stick to it – you should think of your available free time and when you study best.  Try and fit your timetable in around your daily schedule and also consider what times of the day that you are most focussed.
4. Create the study environment in which you feel most comfortable.  Some people like to have some background music, some people find that they like complete silence.  Find an environment that you feel most comfortable and relaxed so that you can completely focus your attention on your assignments and have a productive study session as a consequence.
5. Involve your friends and family.  To have moral support is always a great boost to your confidence.  Also, if you felt it appropriate, ask a friend or colleague to read through an assignment before you submit it.  Sometimes it’s good to have a fresh pair of eyes to review and to give constructive feedback or a different view.
6. In order to enhance your studies look out for talks, groups or blogs discussing your subject matter.  This can enhance what you are learning from home – you can debate issues or seek advice from others.
7. When studying think of real life situations and scenarios and how you would apply the theory you have learned.  By putting theory into real situations this will help you to recall the information as it’s applicable to you or a familiar situation.
8. Where possible, put what you have learned into practice as soon as possible.  If you start practising a theory, you will have greater understanding and it will become second nature.
9. Find a mentor.  Perhaps there is someone you know who recommended this particular course or a friend who shares a passion for the same subject matter.  Meet up and chat about it.  This can be quite inspirational will bring additional value and perspective to your studies.
10. Celebrate your success! Be proud of your achievements!  The confidence you will gain will impress others and will help you to get what you want out of life.

To ensure that you are getting the most out of your distance learning course, here are 5 tips that will make sure that you don’t fall into some of the most common pitfalls during your study.  Your course should (hopefully) be fun so work hard and good luck!

Use all possible resources to help you learn
The internet is the most valuable resource that you have to supplement your course materials so make sure that you subscribe to email newsletters that discuss your topic of interest so that you are kept up to date on any relevant news.  Also, be aware of other resources such as online books, virtual dictionaries and research articles that are within your study topic.  If you need a hand with a specific problem, this distance learning social network is a great way to ask your peers or tutors a question.

Get credit for other courses that you’ve completed
Make sure that, before you start a course, you have enrolled at the right level.  Be sure to discuss in detail with your course tutor any previous qualifications or work experience that you have gained.  This will ensure that you are taking a course that is at the right difficulty level for you.

Connect with peers and professors
To ensure that you are getting the most from the course, it is vitally important that you consistently communicate with others that are taking the course and also your tutors.  They are the best resource that you can use so ask them for help if you have a question. Discussing the course materials with others is also a great way to learn more about the topic, so try to engage in conversation with others to get opinions and start a debate with your peers.

Don’t procrastinate!
It is important to set study goals that are achievable.  Make sure that you create a study timetable that you follow that is based around the other activities that you do in your spare time.  You will achieve more if you set your own goals and stick to them.  Study in a quiet place that is free from distractions.

Choose the right course
Make sure that you are passionate about the course that you enroll in.  To reach your full potential, it is important that you have carefully thought through what work the course will involve and only enroll if you think that you have a keen enough interest in the subject matter.  There is nothing worse than dreading the homework of a subject that you have little interest in.  If you are unsure about what course to take, do some research about the topic online and speak to others about their knowledge of the subject.