How do you study for online classes?
Treat online classes like real classes. Pick set times each week for lectures, notes, and review, and put them in your calendar. Study in a quiet spot with your phone away. Take notes while you watch lectures instead of just listening. Then test yourself often, because no teacher is checking your work for you.
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In more detail
The hard part of online classes is that nobody is on your back. No one takes attendance in your living room. So it's really easy to push a lecture to tomorrow, then push it again, and suddenly you're three weeks behind.
The fix is structure you build yourself. Give each class a fixed slot in your week, the same way a timetable would. Show up to that slot like it's a real class. Sit somewhere quiet, close the other tabs, and put your phone in another room.
And don't just watch. Watching a lecture feels like studying but it barely sticks. Take notes as you go, pause when you're lost, and quiz yourself after. If you can't explain it without looking, you don't know it yet.
Step by step
- 1
Block fixed times each week for each class and put them in your calendar.
- 2
Study in one quiet spot. Phone in another room, social media logged out.
- 3
Take notes while you watch the lecture. Pause and rewind when you lose the thread.
- 4
Write down every deadline from the syllabus the first week, so nothing sneaks up on you.
- 5
After each lecture, close your notes and quiz yourself on what you just learned.
- 6
Each week, redo the questions you got wrong before instead of only the new stuff.
How StudyPDF helps
Upload your lecture recordings, slides, and notes, and StudyPDF turns them into quizzes and a practice exam so you can test yourself instead of just rewatching. It tracks which ideas you keep missing and drills those, and every answer links back to the exact spot in your material.
See also
More questions
How do I stop falling behind in online classes?
Give every class a fixed time slot in your week and treat it like a class you have to show up to. Write all your deadlines down in week one so nothing surprises you. The trap is telling yourself you'll catch up later, because later never comes. Small daily sessions beat one panicked weekend.
Is watching the lecture enough to study?
No. Just watching feels productive but most of it slips away by the next day. Take notes as you watch, then close them and try to recall the main points from memory. The part where you struggle to remember is the part that actually builds the memory.
Do it on your own course
Upload your lectures and ask Bo. Cited answers, plus flashcards, exams, and more built from your material.