Distance Learning Student Survival Guide

Distance Learning Student Survival Guide

Distance learning is an efficient way of attending school when you are not able to quit your day job and you have family responsibilities. Having finished two distance learning courses in Axia College, I have compiled the following topics and guidelines for a successful experience in distance learning.

Conducting Successful Library and Internet Searches

When tasked with assignments or tests that require supporting data and research, the school's online library is a great tool. It is especially important for your final persuasive essay and assignment. Axia's online library is very easy to use. You can get there by clicking on the ‘Library' link on the upper right hand corner of your main login page. This online library provides multiple databases, like EBSCOHost and ProQuest. It also has several search options for locating the materials that you will need. Axia's online library has an ‘Ask a Librarian' feature. It comes in handy when you are lost and need direction. It works just like a real library, only you don't get an instance response.

Another research option that you can use is the Internet. Internet search results can be overwhelming and confusing. The strategy that worked for me is to save the web pages and

articles that you think are relevant in your ‘favorites' folder. Another good strategy is to document the search results and the web pages.

The most important aspect of online research is the credibility of your source. When evaluating your reference materials, you will need to analyze the strengths and bias of a source. In order for you to do this, you will have to find out the authors' affiliations to gain a better idea of where their loyalties lie and whether or not their information is both reliable and worthy

of reference in your academic paper. You also may wish to dig a bit deeper and find out about the institution, organization, and or business with which your author is affiliated. It is equally important to evaluate the site itself as there is an abundance of face websites out there.

Upholding Academic Honesty

Plagiarism is taking someone's words or ideas and presenting them as your own. Information is easily accessible these days so it's very easy to get carried away, get lackadaisical or just lose track when working on a research project, especially when you're using several sources: internet, books, newspapers, magazines, etc.