A College Student’s Guide to Preparing for Online Exams

A College Student’s Guide to Preparing for Online Exams

You may feel overwhelmed with all the major changes that come with remote learning.  As you still make adjustments to participating in virtual class discussions, you might think that taking an online exam might even be more difficult. 

Here’s some good news.  There isn’t much difference between taking your periodic exams online or inside the classroom.  To help you prepare for that upcoming online exam that will measure how much you’ve learned from your online classes, here are some tips you can follow:

Make a Personalized Study Guide

Although many of your professors will provide you with a study guide, creating a personalized study guide will allow you to understand your lecture material better. You can create a customized study guide that outlines which topics are more crucial and topics you find more difficult to grasp.

Review Ahead

Cramming is a student’s worst enemy. Trying to cram all your lectures in one night will leave you feeling mentally drained during the day of the online test. That’s why you need to study and review your online periodic exams ahead of time. Without cramming, you can spend all the time you need to understand your lessons thoroughly and get enough rest prior to the exams.

Join Online Review Sessions

If you spend hours of video call with your classmates just to talk about K-dramas, why not organize a video chat to review for an exam?  Aside from studying on your own, short review sessions with peers can help motivate you to open your notes and review your lessons. Throw test questions at each other. Ask your friend for help with a topic you find hard to understand.

Test Yourself

Creating mock tests or finding questionnaires about the exam topics will not only help you work under pressure but will also help you pinpoint which topics you’re struggling with. Administering self-paced tests also lets you mentally prepare for the exam at hand.

Organize Your Study Time

There will always be subjects that require more study time; it’s best for you to organize and prioritize which subjects would require more time and study accordingly.

Rest and Take a Break

Staying well-rested and taking breaks in between reviewing for your online periodic exam keeps your mind sharp and your body relaxed. With ample rest, your brain is ready to retain more information.

Understand Test Guidelines & Instructions

Knowing all the right answers to the test questions is useless if you can’t follow the online exam instruction.  Before answering, double-check the instructions, test time, link, and other details. Check if it is a time-pressured exam. Since it’s an online test, find out how to know if your answers have really been recorded.

Check your Computer & Internet Connection

Prior to the test, make sure that your computer or gadget and internet connection are stable.  It is also best to get a back-up source of internet connection.  Aside from your family’s Wi-Fi connection, it is ideal to have extra cellular data or pocket Wi-fi just in case your main internet connection fails.  In case you encounter technical issues during the test, make sure to take screenshots of the error you encountered and notify your professor about it as soon as possible.

Taking an online test is similar to taking exams inside the classroom.  Study for it just like you would for a traditional periodic exam but prepare for any technical issues you may encounter during the test. 

One of the pioneers of online learning in the country is Informatics Philippines, which has been providing students certification courses purely online since the early 2000s. Through its internationally recognized online schooling technologies, Informatics offers Senior High School tracks, Bachelor’s Degree programs, Diploma courses, and Corporate/Short courses.  Know more about the school’s online programs at www.informatics.edu.ph

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