It is one of life’s ironies that the very week after writing a blog about the benefits of exercise, I would be spending long hours at the computer.

On Class Central in late May, I discovered a self-paced course about malaria. I have been fascinated by this mosquito-borne disease since learning that my father contracted it in New Guinea during World War II. He suffered relapses for years afterwards.

I was in the middle of the Preventing Dementia course and decided to start MalariaX: Defeating Malaria from the Genes to the Globe after I finished it. Yes, I know, dementia and malaria back-to-back. If I didn’t find courses about health interesting, I wouldn’t enroll.

A Tight Schedule

On June 15 I finished the dementia course. The next day, I discovered to my dismay that the malaria course was destined to be archived by edX on July 3.

Oh, crumbs.

That meant my deadline would be June 26, as I’m spending a week away from that date. Could I finish a course designed to take 8 weeks in just 10 days? Time for an online learning binge!

For me, learning online isn’t just watching a series of videos and answering a bunch of quiz questions on the fly. I need to understand the material and want to remember at least some of it after finishing the course.

Strategies for Binge Learning

Here are my strategies to get through a heavy workload in a short time:

• Close off all unnecessary tabs on your screen. They are just too distracting and can take up too much time.
• Turn off social media and email phone notifications. You may even need to turn off your phone if you’re not using it for your course.
• If there is a video transcript, open it and read it before watching the video. Take notes to help lodge the information in your brain. If any part makes no sense, stop reading and watch the video up to that point. Chances are, slides, graphs, tables or other visuals will help your understanding.
• If possible, watch the videos on 1.5X or 2X speed and pause frequently to take notes. Don’t be afraid to repeat parts or even the whole video if you don’t fully grasp the meaning the first time. My mind tends to wander when speakers talk too slowly.
• Be flexible. Despite the above advice, sometimes I need to slow the speed to 1X for a complex problem or an unusual speaking accent.
• If you start to feel overwhelmed or can’t understand something after a few tries, take a break. If you read a quiz question and your mind goes blank, take a break.
• Take some breaks away from your computer even if you are not having any problems. Walk around in the house or go outside. Stretch, dance, skip, or do some jumping jacks. Even if you don’t manage 150 minutes of moderate exercise in the week, any bit of activity is better than none.
• Switch your brain away from the course from time to time and do essential tasks at work and at home. Often after a break, you can return to your course with a fresh outlook.
• When in binge mode, there is no need to use a Pomodoro to keep focussed on the course. The ringing of the Pomodoro every 25 minutes can distract, not help.
• Ignore all non-essential tasks around the house. For me, cleaning is non-essential.
• Make sure that your non-essential tasks are also non-essential in the opinion of others who live with you. Housemates, friends, and family members are often very patient and helpful when they know you are on a tight schedule, but that patience can wear thin if you don’t consider their concerns.
• Remember to catch up on chores after you finish the course. Make a list while you’re studying if you need to. Writing things down helps you keep your concentration on the course without the distraction of needing to remember them.

Did I Finish?

Yes, I finished the course on June 24, with a day to spare. Then I had to write today’s blog post because it was one of the non-essential tasks while I was in steamroller mode finishing the course.

There will be no post next week, while I have a short break.

A Final Thought

While it is possible to pull out all stops and finish a course far more quickly than the scheduled time, I wouldn’t recommend it for a regular learning strategy. It is harder to remember details when the biggest priority is to simply finish and pass the course.

By Pat Bowden, published June 26, 2018.