A free way to become a better student

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Fanshawe's Student Success Services want you to do well, and on March 7, they launched a free online resource to help you do just that.

Becoming a Better Student is an online course that can be accessed through FanshaweOnline. Log in to FOL, click "Self-Registration" at the top of the page, and follow the instructions to enroll in the course.

"Essentially what it has is study strategies, goal-setting, time-management, listening, note-taking, reading to understand and test preparation," explained Robert Kitchen, student success leader. There are also sections on balancing work and school, dealing with difficulty adjusting to the Fanshawe campus and personal concerns, which provides information about helpful resources on campus.

Each section contains video components, worksheets, assessments, handouts and links to other resources. According to Kitchen, the goal was to provide students with the most information in an easy-to-use format. "I think this is very comprehensive and we've packaged it well."

One of the course's strengths is its modularity, according to Kitchen. Students can choose to use as little or as much of the information as they need in order to address their specific issues and strengthen their skills.

"When I talk to students about academic skills, I emphasize that it's not about taking every suggestion that's there," explained Tanya Andrews, student success advisor for Fanshawe's School of Art and Design and School of Contemporary Media. "It's overwhelming if you try to implement everything. The idea is to take a few strategies and implement those gradually. Once you get good at those, you implement some more. It's not meant to be an overwhelming piece, but to help you along in the process to become a better student."

Anyone who has FOL access is encouraged to enroll in this course for tips that aren't just useful for class, but may be useful life skills as well. For example, taking effective notes is a skill that can be very useful in a meeting in the workplace. "There's great transferability," added Kitchen.

There are many services on campus to help students with their study skills, and according to Kitchen and Andrews, this online course is meant to give students the confidence to be able to help themselves first, and then seek out additional resources if needed.

"It's not to replace services, it's to enhance them," explained Kitchen. "I think it's designed on a basic to an intermediate level to try to get the student started."