Making Online Learning Stick

While it is undeniable that online learning has its benefits, it has never been a totally effortless sell.

Competing priorities, distractions, and any feelings of aimlessness can often prevent our learning from being effective and, most importantly, consistent.

As a data consultancy, Butterfly Data prides itself in the technical expertise of its consultants. In order to invest in their skills, Butterfly Data encourages its consultants to invest a practical portion of working time on personal development. In this article, we will explore a few methods that Butterfly employs in order to maximise the value of this time, as well as a few techniques I have found effective personally.

Set SMART goals

Setting SMART goals (goals that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound) is an essential starting point to personal development. SMART goals allow us to intentionally consider what we want to learn, how long it may take, and the methodology by which we should achieve it. By sticking to this framework, we ensure there is no room to let goals slip due to shifting energy levels, internal resistance or just forgetting what the goal was about in the first place. No matter what kind of online learning you’re doing, setting SMART goals can enable you to focus on making real progress towards a concrete goal.

Manage your time smart-ly

One of the biggest challenges when setting out to complete a piece of online learning is simply finding the time to do it. Amidst other competing priorities, online learning can feel like the last thing we want to do when we have got a spare hour after finishing a piece of work. In moments of wavering motivation, it is important to remember the reason why you are investing your time in online learning in the first place, and to proportion your time accordingly. It’s equally important to anticipate when your energy levels will be at their lowest so that you can plan around these times. It can be tricky to get the balance right but the old adage rings true - a little is always better than none.

Use active recall

Active recall is the practice of making a conscious effort to remember pieces of information instead of just looking them up. For example, you might find yourself tempted to look up key pieces of syntax as you work through a coding course. However, resisting this urge and instead trying to actively recall a piece of information can speed up the process of internalising and retaining it. Because ultimately, the goal is to remember information in the long term, not just understand it in the short term. Personally, I have found that taking an extra 5 minutes or so at the end of a module to jot down key points from memory has massively boosted my engagement and retention in online learning courses. You might want to try this, or incorporate active recall in some other way. Either way, you may be surprised at how difficult it is to remember things without the aid of a Google search!

Take time to reflect on your progress

Scheduling in time to reflect on progress can help to improve flow, prevent distractions, and remedy general feelings of frustration when things aren’t moving forward. At Butterfly, this practice is encouraged in order to identify issues and take proactive steps to improve. You might find that the same distractions keep popping up or certain aspects of a course are proving more tricky than expected. Rather than getting bogged down by these issues as they arise, try scheduling in a regular time where you can proactively identify problems and think through solutions. Implementing a regular time to review progress and identify impediments can make learning more engaging, productive and rewarding.

Use the skills you’ve learned

It goes without saying that you will usually want to actually use your skills after learning them. While using active recall in your studying can go a long way, it is often scenarios outside of learning that completely solidify a concept. Incorporating an ‘endgame learning plan’ when setting goals can go a long way to keeping the information fresh in your mind. So whether you are working towards a personal project, learning a new skill or upskilling yourself for work, remember that the key to making online learning stick is not just to stick to effective learning practices, but to consistently keep it going as well.