Study from Home

Online reading is important to the online learning process. The strategies explored on this page should help you to upgrade reading retention, comprehension, and focus. With practice, your reading skills will improve. 

The online reading process

The strategies you'll need when reading online are the same as reading offline. You already know how to apply these strategies to the academic reading process. 
 

• Identify your purpose for reading.  
• Choose your reading strategy: scanning, skimming or intensive reading. 
• Focus on information retrieval and reflection. Take time to reflect on what you have read. Reflection should be a regular activity of your study.
• Vary your reading material.
• Take regular breaks from looking at your screen and make sure you get up, move around and stretch. If you're reading online at night, turn on a night light display on your computer or mobile to protect your eyes from blue light.

Difficulties with online reading

Instructions: Click through the slides using the bar at the bottom to see some common difficulties students experience when reading online. Answer the questions to recommend strategies that can help them.

Dealing with concentration issues when reading online

• Break up your work into small achievable steps or tasks. 
• Use the Pomodoro technique.
• Take regular breaks. Use alarms or timers to remind you to stop. 
• Use another screen or split screens to vary the material. 
• Try different formats for notemaking - for example, make a poster! 
• Use rewards to motivate yourself and develop your reading skills .

How much time should I spend reading?

There's no absolute rule about this, but if you consider that an average 15 credit module at 1st year level includes 150 hours of study, but only 15 hours of face-to-face teaching, this should give you an idea of how much time you need to be spending studying outside the classroom.

In general, you will be expected to spend 9 hours out of class for every hour in class, either reading or preparing for assignments.