Your Teachers and Counselor will most likely make initial contact with you via your @mysaddleback email address. It is imperative that you check your email twice a day: every morning and evening to ensure you are not missing out on important notes, meeting invites, and/or feedback from instructors and your support team.

Understand that online courses are not an easier way to learn, but rather a more convenient one. To successfully learn online, you need to dedicate a significant amount of your time, consistently attend the program, be concentrated while studying, and fully commit to your learning process, just as you would do for a regular course.

• For SVUSD Virtual Academy, the expectation is that students spend at least one hour per class each day/5 days a week. For most, this equates to 30 hours a week of uninterrupted and focused work time.

At a brick and mortar school, your teachers help you with your schedule. As a distance learner, your teacher will provide you with learning activities and it's up to you when you complete this work. Create a schedule for each day of the week that works for you and stick with it! Remember, distance learning requires an increased level of organization and time management for maximum success.

• Plan Ahead: Never wait until the day before an assignment due date to start working on it. It will stress you and stress will prevent you from effectively completing the online task. Furthermore, knowing when all of your assignments are due until the end of the eLearning course will facilitate your time management; for instance, if you are going on vacation in the middle of the eLearning course, you can study ahead.

• Have a Calendar System: Online learning needs structure; create a study calendar that will help you remember all important dates, like exams, or deadlines for submitting your assignments. You can save your calendar in your computer or in your mobile device, or you can even create a wall planner, which you can mark up and check every time you study.

• Create To-Do Lists: At the start of each week, make a to-do list of the tasks you need to complete by the end of the week. This is an excellent way to prioritize your study plan and stay on track with your studying.

• Stay on Schedule: Stick to your study plan. Procrastination is the worst enemy of online learners, so make sure that you stay organized and you are not falling behind in your online class. If you are having difficulties submitting your assignments on time, contact your online course instructor and let them know, so that they can help you create a consistent study routine.

Use timers to remind yourself to take breaks and stick to your set schedule. At a brick and mortar school, you get breaks built in to your day (transition time to and from class, snack, lunch, recess, etc.). In a distance learning environment, you must set these breaks for yourself and have a clearly defined break length so you can get right back to work when the timer goes off.

Find an area in your house to organize and dedicate to your studies and you'll be much more productive. If possible, avoid work spaces such as your bed or the living room couch. Consider using a desk, office space, or dining table if available.

Put your cell phone aside and out of sight during work time. The temptation of texting friends and social media are real and even individuals with the most self control can struggle with this distraction. Please set yourself up for success and have your cell phone put away during your actively scheduled work hours. Remember, you set your schedule, let's stick to it!

Stay Motivated: Don't underestimate the effort needed to fully commit to your online course. To make sure that you stay motivated and engaged in your online learning experience, consider following these tips:

• Reward yourself every time you complete your daily academic tasks: Do you like video games, snapchat, icecream, binging netflix, or mindlessly scrolling on your ipad? Use these things as your REWARD for successfully completing your academic goals on a daily basis. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT play your video games, watch netflix, or get on social media before you have completed your daily academic schedule. Why you ask? Because it's much more difficult to stop the things you want to do in order to do the things you need to do.

To stay motivated, also consider...

• Feel free to create your study routine at your own comfortable pace.

• Decorate your study space with inspirational quotes and pictures.

• Never forget the reason why you took this online course.

• Accept that you will have productive and less productive days.

• Have healthy snacks nearby to boost your energy.