10 Tips to Learn
Online Effectively

In this blog post, we explore effective strategies from Barbara Oakley’s book “Learning How to Learn.”

In today’s digital era, e-learning has transformed the way we acquire knowledge and skills, offering unparalleled flexibility and access to a vast array of resources. To make the most of your online learning experience, it’s crucial to adopt these proven strategies that optimize your learning process. Therefore, we delve into ten valuable tips, inspired by Oakley’s research and expert advice, that can significantly enhance your online learning efficiency and empower you to excel in your educational endeavors.

1. Embrace Focused and Diffused Thinking

Your brain has two modes of thinking — focused and diffused. Focused thinking is when you concentrate on a singular task, while diffused thinking is a relaxed form of thinking where you let your mind wander. Both are equally important in helping your brain learn, so ensure you make a conscious effort to spend time in both modes by taking regular breaks.

Practical tip: 

• Ensure you take frequent breaks by using the pomodoro technique. This technique consists of having a programed 25 min of focused concentration followed by 5 min of mental relaxation. Try a pomodoro timer.

2. Overcome procrastination with process-focused thinking

Procrastination is often caused by feeling overwhelmed or stressed. To overcome procrastination, try to focus on the process of learning rather than the end goal. This will help you break down the task into smaller, more manageable steps. Instead of thinking, “I have to get X done by the end of the day,” reframe it as “I will spend an hour on X.”

Practical tips:

• Just get started! Getting started is key, as discomfort usually disappears once you’re engaged in the task.
• Break down the task into smaller, more manageable steps.
• Work-mode on! Set up your pomodoro timer for 25 min of focused, non-interrupted work and then reward yourself!

3. Harness the power of sleep

Quality sleep allows your brain to engage in unconscious diffused thinking, aiding in clearing metabolic toxins and consolidating new information. Always prioritise a good night’s sleep after learning to maximize retention.

Practical tip:

• It is best to sleep directly after learning new things.
• Avoid all nighters — as you’ll be studying with a foggy brain. Much better to have a good night’s sleep and resume the following day.

4. Utilise spaced repetition

Spaced repetition involves revisiting information regularly at set intervals over time and gradually increasing the time between the intervals. This helps to strengthen the neural connections associated with the information, making it easier to remember and transfer information into your long-term memory!

Practical tip:

• Try digital flashcards, like Brainscape. Create flashcards or practice quizzes. This is a great way to test yourself on the material you have learned. Flashcards and quizzes can help you to identify the areas where you need more practice.

5. Exercise improves our memory

Physical exercise and a rich social environment promote the production of new neurons, positively impacting memory and learning abilities.

Practical tip:

• Keep moving! Get some exercise in your day, even if it’s just a short walk or jog. Find time to socialise and exercise.

6. Practise makes it stick

The more you practice with a new concept, the better you will remember it. This is because practice helps to strengthen the neural connections associated with the information, making it easier to recall. The more complex something is, the more important it is to practice in order to solidify those neural patterns and make them permanent. Without practice, you will form weak neural patterns and what you have learned will probably be forgotten.

Practical tip:

• Solve problems. This is one of the best ways to practice a new concept.
• Explain the concept to someone else. This is a great way to test your own understanding of a concept.
• Find a study buddy or join a study group. This is a great way to get feedback on your understanding of the material.

7. Employ active recall

Active recall involves retrieving information from memory through, basically, testing yourself. The very act of retrieving information from your brain strengthens your ability to retain information and improves connections in your brains between different concepts.

Recalling and reproducing information in your own words without looking at the material is proven more effective than simply re-reading, which can give you an illusion of understanding it (illusion of competence).

Practical tip:

• Test yourself regularly on the material you’re learning.
• Write down the information in your own words.
• Consider recalling when you are in different places to become independent of the cues from any given location. This will help you when taking a test in the class.
• Highlighting too much and creating maps are often ineffective without recalling.

8. Chunking

Chunking is the act of grouping concepts into smaller packages of information (chunks) that are easier for the mind to access. Chunking describes the process of grouping related bits of information together, effectively reducing the number of “things” you need to remember.

Practical tip: Focus + Understand + Practice + Gain context = Chunking

• After solving a problem rehearse it to help create a smooth chunk.
• Group related information together.
• Create mind maps or concept maps to help you visualize the information. Try mindmap tools like Miro.

9. Interleave topics — Mixing it up boosts learning

Interleaving is a learning technique that involves mixing up closely related topics when you’re studying. This will help you to retrieve information from memory and make new connections between the topics, which can help you to learn the material more effectively. It can also help you to identify the topics that you are struggling with, develop a deeper understanding of the material, and retain the material for longer.

Practical tip:

• When studying multiple topics, interleave them throughout your study session by spending short periods of time (20 minutes) on each topic, cycling back through them in a different order each time.

10. Deliberate practice — Do the hard stuff

Don’t just focus on the easy stuff. Make sure to practice the harder aspects of a topic as well. This will help you to develop a deeper understanding of the material.

Practical tip:

• Just do it! Schedule time to learn and practice the harder stuff. Repeating something you already learnt or know very well is easy. It can bring the illusion of competence; that you’ve mastered the full material when you actually just know the easy stuff. Balance your studies and focus on the more difficult.

Stay tuned to GlobalU for more educational insights and resources. Your journey to success begins here.