Learning strategies: texts and online classes

Sometimes it is hard to concentrate when reading a text in front of an electronic device; even more so, in these times when a new learning method has been adapted. Technological devices have become more and more determined to be the main tool for learning and teaching.

As students, it is difficult for us to adapt to this new way of acquiring knowledge, our homes have become our classrooms to learn online and this can generate a conflict coupled with a lack of concentration to learn. There are techniques that improve learning and implement strategies that help receive and store information in our heads more effectively. These are a set of practices that are used in a didactic way and you can apply the ones that best suit you.

For this reason, we present you with a guide so that you can adapt your study space and avoid falling into the zone of deconcentration. We will indicate the alternatives that you can make to have a better performance in your virtual classes. In addition, we will talk about the learning strategies that you can implement when reading a text, with the aim that you can process information faster; thus, you will be able to identify the most relevant information in a very simple way.

Online classes, a new study alternative.

This new learning method must be mostly didactic, there must be coordination between the student and the teacher; the latter must carry out a more interactive and dynamic class so that they do not fall into tedium, since it can be counterproductive to pay attention and learn. In the following sections, some points will be raised that you can follow for a better quality of study and learning:

Plan your goals: establish your expectations, purposes and goals; Find the most appropriate activity or activities to achieve these, What am I looking for at the end of the course? How much do I want to learn? These questions can be the beginning of good motivation.
Establish your schedules: make your study schedules by subject, organize your times so that they fit the activity, if it is possible for you to create a calendar or agenda, you can dedicate one hour for each of the subjects that you take in your course or Well, you can dedicate one day a week for each of them. It is very important that you respect these schedules, so that you do not spend 24 hours doing homework, mental health is very important at this time.
Adapt your study space: to have a better concentration, you need to look for a place away from the noise and distractions that prevent your study days. If you do not have a desk, you can look for ideas on the internet to adapt one with a low budget. In addition, it is very important that the people you live with understand that you are taking classes remotely, so these schedules and activities must be respected.
Establishes communication: during the class period it is very important that there is a wide level of communication between you, your teacher and your classmates. The teacher must establish some network to provide indications about the classes or courses, while you and your classmates can support each other if anyone requires it.

It seems complicated, but you always have to see it as a self-taught opportunity because you can connect to thousands of platforms that help you and make it easier for you with certain tasks. As we have mentioned, we live in a technological age in which information is at our fingertips.

How to understand a text in a simple way?

Learning strategies

As has been mentioned, any type of action carried out by the student with the objective of learning is known as a learning strategy. In this section we propose some strategies that can be particularly useful for reading a text.

Prediction of a text: before reading the body of the text you can anticipate its content just by reading the title, it is often possible to predict the information contained in a text. For this, you can count on previous knowledge on the subject.
General comprehension: before a text, look at the title, the repeated words, the typographical indications. Based on these elements, establish the general idea of the text.
Specific location: if your purpose is only to find data, such as names, dates, statistics, direct your attention only to this type of information; do not invest time in other types of reading.
Selection of information: you can be selective in your reading, that is, locate the texts or parts of a text that contain the information of interest to you.
Elaboration of summaries: you can synthesize the information of a text if you pay attention only to the main ideas . Read the title and the first paragraph, paraphrase the ideas that are presented there; then read the first sentence of each paragraph, as they generally point out the main idea of the paragraph and paraphrase those ideas. Later, read the last paragraph, which almost always contains the conclusions of the text, also paraphrase said information. Finally gather your data in a single document, which will correspond to a summary. There are online tools that help you paraphrase and summarize all kinds of texts, such is the case of Parafrasist.com , a tool focused on helping students and teachers to have a better understanding of their texts.
Graphic organizers: try to transfer the content of a text to a form that allows you to visualize it faster, it can be a scheme, a diagram, a mind map, a concept map, etc. Remember that it is the option with which you feel most comfortable.

These tools can help you reach your goals established at the beginning; however, it is very important to identify the weaknesses that have been found and thus improve day by day. Examine which are the best options that suit you and with which you feel most comfortable so that you can implement them every day in your classes or courses.