How to Prepare for My Online Final Exams
An online final exam, at its core, is no different than an in-person exam; the objective of both is to test student knowledge on a particular subject. And while the switch to an online final exam might have led you to assume that the test will be easier, this isn’t necessarily the case. It’s equally important to study for online exams. Here we will discuss some tips and tricks on how to do so.
Your online exams will likely be a bit different than in-person. With the Internet literally at your fingertips, teachers know that it’s easy for students to search for answers online. Many teachers will combat this issue by giving you some kind of cheat sheet up front, or by giving you a take-home exam that you can complete over days or even weeks. But many teachers will also just give you a regular test online and expect you to treat it as you normally would. For all of these scenarios, studying is still essential. And don’t cheat, as you’d be doing yourself a disservice.
Using technology to your advantage
You should still engage the studying practices that work for you regularly. Maybe flashcards really help your memory, or maybe you learn best by making up songs. These tactics will certainly be helpful when studying for an online final exam. But I’d also encourage you to use the technology you’ve been learning on to your advantage, and find some new ways to study online.
There are millions of study sites and videos that have all been created to help students. A site like Quizlet, for example, allows you to make a stack of digital flash cards to practice and share with friends. There’s also the YouTube series, CrashCourse, that makes highly entertaining videos on a variety of school subjects. Look around and see what resources are available. Your teacher may have even made something for you, or sent around some kind of game or practice sheet. These are all good options, as they not only help with studying, but also help you adapt to taking an exam online.
Still need that extra boost? Our Gooroo tutors are available to help you study for your online final exams.
In-person strategies to use online
So you’ve incorporated technology into your studies. Now how can you incorporate the aspects of in-person learning that you’ve so dearly missed?
Obviously this will be difficult, as we can’t be physically together in the age of COVID-19. But two aspects are easy to replicate at home, the first being handwritten notes. Simply writing down your notes by hand will help to grill the information into your memory. This isn’t necessarily true of typing, which we can do much faster and more mindlessly. There’s something about hand to paper, your arm growing sore, that just can’t be replicated with online note taking. If you have been taking online notes, a good way to study for your online final exam is to rewrite everything on paper. Or if you haven’t been taking notes altogether, take a look at the material your teacher has sent and handwrite the concepts that are most difficult for you, perhaps several times over until they’re engrained in your mind.
The second aspect of in-person learning that’s easy to replicate at home is peer studying. While you can’t be in-person with your classmates, you can—and should—video call them. Talking through your thoughts with others is one of the best ways to study, as it cements that information within a particular context. Video studying sessions can happen one-on-one or in a group. You can even organize to split up the material amongst your friends, so everyone arrives at the video call knowledgeable on one subject. Then you can each share what you’ve found.
When push comes to shove, studying for an online exam is not all that different than studying for an in-person one. So long as you’ve taken advantage of all the resources at your fingertips (including those your teacher has sent), you should arrive at that exam webpage feeling confident.
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